Toast With a Roast

By Li Qing

When A33， a theater in Beijing， hosted a stand-up comedy show on May 10， to the surprise of the organizers， nearly 250 people turned up to laugh at the punchlines. Six years ago， such attendance would have been unbelievable. Indeed， there were even instances of shows having more comedians than viewers.

At the show， Wan Da was one of the performers. The 58-year-old is a member of Beijing Comedy Center， a stand-up comedy club established in 2015.

Wan articulated the concern of the industry. “Many people are worried about the future of stand-up comedy， a genre that is very popular in the U.S.， after its introduction in China. Can it adapt itself here？” he said.

Then he answered his own query. “As the results show， there is no need to worry. We have survived and carry on some of the best U.S. traditions， like poking fun at the U.S. president，” he said， making the audience laugh.

According to a report by online ticketing platform Damai， the box office of stand-up comedy shows increased by over 300 percent during the May Day holiday， from May 1 to 5. The number of viewers went up seven-fold compared to the same period last year.

Thanks to programs such as Rock & Roast， a comedy talk show competition with amateurs now into Season 3， and short comic skits on streaming platforms， more people are becoming familiar with the genre， Song Qiyu， a comedian and founder of Beijing Comedy Center， told Beijing Review. Thanks to these shows， the popularity of the genre was not affected by COVID-19 but helped people relieve their pressure and fears during self-quarantine.

“Going to the theater to watch standup comedy in places such as Beijing and Shanghai with their strong standup comedy culture has even become a fashionable event for tourists from thirdand fourth-tier cities，” Song said. As the industry grows， these cities will also have more comedy clubs producing performances with local flavors， he added.

In the spotlight

Stand-up comedy captured the national imagination in 2010， when Jilin Province-born humorist Joe Wongs performance at the Radio and Television Correspondents Associations annual dinner in Washington， D.C. gained much attention across domestic social media platforms.

Wong was surprised by the flood of messages from Chinese netizens. They loved the performance， a comic joking with a mic in hand， tickling the audiences funny bone.