American Amb-ass-adors

What it’s like to be an American abroad in the time of Trump

If you want to see some phenomenal English stand-up in Barcelona, you need to hunt down the Hush Hush Comedy show wherever they are. This particular night, they occupied the basement of the Casa Gracia, a funky hostel with a basement that looks like someone turned an old 1920’s art-deco bank vault into a bar. At the bottom of the stairs is a donkey fountain with the water pouring out of its giant donkey-dong. If you linger, you’ll hear a toilet flush and someone will come out of a nearly-hidden unisex bathroom to wash their hands in the sink, which is carved into the donkey’s stomach. You’ll notice that the water they’ve just washed their hands with is what trickles out of the foot-long dong into a basin below.

If you continue past the schlong-donkey, pay €5 to the super-chill American guy at the door, and stuff your bag into a locker (€1 buys you the key and you get that € back when you’re done), you’ll find yourself in a cave of a performance space/bar. Comedians perform surrounded by audience members who drape themselves wherever they can find room- on a low stool, a bench, or cross-legged on the ground. If you haven’t arrived early enough for a seat, you can stand by the bar. It’s a fire hazard, but it’s intimate. It feels like hanging out in someone’s living room.