The Great LOL of China | During the 25th anniversary of Tiananmen Square, what's a Beijing comedian to do?
To perform stand-up comedy in China, one must first master the arts of subtlety and suggestion.
Last week, I arrived at a comedy open mic at Nanluoguxiang, a trendy street in Beijing, ready to head onstage and do Chinese-langauge stand-up for eighty audience members. But right before the other comedians and I headed onstage, an official from the Cultural Affairs Bureau told the MC of the event that we were advised not to perform.
We discovered the reason was because we did not have a permit for the performance. It was hard to hear that reasoning, however, over the noise of about a dozen cover bands and other performances that were simultaneously taking place, ostensibly with permission, up and down the street.
When the MC pointed this out, we were reminded that not performing was, after all, just a suggestion.
A suggestion for which we were reminded that the entire stand-up comedy scene would face responsibility for ignoring.
Ten minutes later I stood onstage with a dozen other Chinese comedians. The MC apologized to the audience. Due to events beyond the control of the performers, the show would be cancelled.
“That’s not funny!” an audience member cried.