How Neil Celebrated His 51st on a Japanese Game Show!
Bang a gong, NPH got it on
Hidden away in New York’s East Village is Batsu — a slapstick and saucy show inspired by Japanese game shows that features comedians as contestants and punishes them (think electric shocks or sake shots) for flubbing games or boring the audience. It’s also where the Boss spent his 51st birthday back in June. (Yes, he appeared as a contestant, and yes, he faced many batsu…that is, punishments.) I got the full skinny from host Brian Walters. Read on for the behind-the-scenes scoop on Mr. P-H’s b-day bash…as well as what you can expect attending this immersive experience. (There’ll be a 6-foot-tall chicken, so mentally prepare yourself for that as well.)
The Narrator: Tell me ‘bout this Batsu, Brian.
Brian Walters: Batsu is a live Japanese game show where we punish comedians if they fail a challenge or if they don’t make the audience laugh. It’s based on a Japanese comedy genre called batsu gemu, where players play a game or do a challenge and whoever loses receives a punishment. Folks say we’re similar to Jackass and Whose Line Is It Anyway?
TN: I had my 51st birthday party there, with David and our friends, and it was I mean, a little birdie told me that NPH had his birthday party there earlier this summer.
BW: Yes, Neil came to Batsu for his 51st birthday. He and his whole party were wonderful. Neil volunteered for one of our games at the top of the show, and he and three teammates ended up losing — and had to do our “body sushi” punishment, in which you have to eat sushi off of this big hairy guy. Not what you would expect! Neil was an incredible sport. He threw his chopsticks away and just grabbed the sushi roll with his mouth and everybody went nuts. He ate it off the guy’s crotch.
TN: Did he now? Can’t wait to discuss that at the next staff meeting.
BW: And then we have a bonus volunteer opportunity where we offer a free pitcher of beer for you and your table. All you have to do is drink soy sauce out of the guy’s belly button with a silly straw. NPH can obviously afford a billion pitchers of beer, but he did it, was fantastic, slurped that soy sauce and brought that pitcher of beer back to the table. He was a hero.
TN: A gentleman and a scholar, the Boss is. Walk me through the Batsu experience a bit more generally, if you could, to give readers a sense of what to expect.
BW: So you get a ticket, and it’s kind of speakeasy-style. You walk in through the kitchen, you see sushi being made, edamame being cooked, gyoza being prepared. Then you walk through our kitchen doors into the main room, and it’s this, like, Tokyo side street that’s all neon with a disco ball and everybody has hachimaki headbands on and are excited to be there. We have a sake shinobi, or sake ninja, who will come and pour you shots of sake throughout the performance. We’ll also have one or two pre-show acts, usually Japanese talent showcasing different things, like tap dance or modern ballet. And then I introduce my Four Warriors.
TN: Your Four Warriors?
BW: My Four Warriors: trained comedians from our improv company. If they don’t make the audience laugh or fail a challenge, they receive a batsu: a punishment. The first is getting shot with a paintball gun at close range. Or our mascot of 13 years, Mr. Chicken, might come out with friends like Batsu-sensei, who teaches Japanese and if they mess up she hits them with a kendo stick. You know a punishment is coming when I strike the gong.
TN: A sound that would strike fear in my heart. Probably your Warriors’, too.
BW: They know what they signed up for.
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