the essential
Spotted by Laurent Ruquier and produced by Kev Adams, the 23-year-old comedian and actor, Max’s Evans, talks about his beginnings and his time in Mirepoix where he writes his next shows.
What is your journey since your first steps on stage to today?
I was born in Saint-Étienne, grew up in Ardèche and lived in Montélimar. Since I was 10 years old, I have always wanted to make people laugh. I found old videos of me doing family shows. At 14, I started doing my first sketches in the street, with a stool and a sign. Until I was 18, it didn’t work. In 2022, I almost stopped everything, then I decided to continue. We only have one life so I sold everything: my phone, I left my apartment, I took out loans. I went to the Palais des Congrès in Montélimar, I lied and said that I knew Kev Adams very well and that he had told me to come. They accepted that I rent thanks to that. I managed to almost fill the room to have the funds necessary to redo other credits and rent zeniths.
Did you manage to meet Kev Adams?
I played in the series Avenir, where I only saw him. However, I was not able to speak to him as I had planned. But, in July 2023, I met him at the Avignon festival. He had already seen me on TV with Laurent Ruquier, so he said to me: “Come to my dressing room this evening.” We talked a lot and he said to me: “I’ll give you a chance and I’ll produce you.” His entire team surrounded me to do a new show called “La Relais”. I spent seven days locked in a residence with two co-authors, without network, telephone and no neighbors. A week later, I was ready to go on stage at Kev Adams’ comedy club, but on the sole condition that I play at the worst time, that is to say on Sundays, since I had never done That. In total, I did four large rooms (3,500/4,000 people), two zeniths and 15 rooms throughout France (around 500/700 people).
Is it necessary to invest at all costs to succeed?
I’m the first to have done it, I think it’s a stroke of luck. It was at the right time, I was lucky and it allowed me to get there. I came across the right people. But you shouldn’t, I took a lot of risks and I could have been in debt all my life. You don’t have to invest as much, or you can, but wisely. You have to know how to manage.
Why did you choose Ariège, and more particularly Mirepoix, to write your future shows?
Before arriving, I didn’t know the city at all. I was looking for a place that was a bit lost, where we had no experience and where we didn’t know anyone. No one recognizes me here. I can see the sincerity of people. It’s also so I can rest because the pace of the shows is intense. We continue with interviews and sets, with a lot of plane flights and train journeys. We no longer ask the question in Paris, if time counts. When I arrived in Mirepoix, I looked for the city center, I was lost. Then I got used to it, I started chatting with the neighbors. I wrote some good sketches. It’s important to come to small villages, to meet everyone. I think what I have written here will be very revealing for the rest of my journey.
Any projects for Ariège or in the town of Mirepoix?
On July 12, I have planned a one-hour show at the creperie L’apothicaire. I will give the opportunity to two people to register to do stand-up. It’s a first meeting before I plan my first show, in Mirepoix, this summer. If I see that it is popular, I will consider opening my first comedy club.
Do you have a role model in the industry?
I don’t think we need to have a model because then we want to be like them and we’re no longer ourselves. Personally, I don’t want to be a part of them, I want to be a part of myself. You could rather say that I have inspirations. Above all, I want to be me. I am the successor to Kev Adams and many others. I’m passing the torch.
An anecdote that struck you the most?
One day, I was a member of a jury with a former Miss France. The presenter begins the presentations of the two guests, therefore the Miss and me. When I announce my name, there is a big blank. I see people on the tables opposite turning around wondering if it was really me. Not knowing what to do, I raise my hand and greet the room. I felt it was embarrassing for everyone. That’s when we realize that even though we’ve been on TV, not everyone knows us and we’re put back on the right path. You have to start somewhere.
