Comment

More applause for Shanghai comedian please, Beijing

By Han Haoyue (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-03 09:40

Can Zhou Libo be accepted by the Beijing comedy market now that audiences have been amused by Guo Degang's cross-talks and Zhao Benshan's Dongbei couple dance operas? Audience response to Zhou's performance in Beijing's Zhongshan Concert Theater on Saturday answered the question well.

The audience didn't hold back and greeted him with 450 bouts of laughter during his show.

Zhou has set himself the target of getting his audience to laugh 500 times during two hours. Given the dominance of actors from North China in Beijing's comedy market, Zhou, a native of Shanghai, merits almost a full mark.

It is not surprising that, after Zhou went back to Shanghai, he said proudly in public that he didn't make Shanghai people lose face.

This time, Zhou has indeed succeeded in reviving the southern comedic tradition, which had been regarded as uninteresting for some time.

In my opinion, Zhou always emphasizes that he only performs for a high-end audience and is satisfied with the Shanghai audience that shares the same cultural background. However, his apparent joy following his Beijing trip shows he has an interest in and cares about the northern comedy market.

The success of Zhou's comedies in Beijing has proved one simple truth: Comedy has no boundaries. People always like to talk about the cultural differences between regions and try to decide which are better. In fact, when a regional culture walks beyond its own walls and embraces a bigger vision, the audience will love it more.

Although Zhou's shows are in the Shanghai dialect, his topics cover social, political, and cultural issues. His expressions are simple but seethed with cultural taste. At a time when the audience is already bored of repetitive comedic forms, there is a huge potential in Zhou's southern style.

Zhou's critical thinking also contributed to the warm greeting from the Beijing audience. Compared with the superficial sarcasm of cross-talks and the folk-style irony of the TV short dramas, Zhou's spicy comments are more up-to-date and can arouse feelings in the audience.

No matter what, Zhou's possible popularity in North China will do good to Chinese comedy. We need more creative actors and actresses like Zhou to help the Chinese comedy market out of its quagmire.

Zhou is not perfect, but he respects his audience and art. Audiences in the North should give him more applause and opportunities to perform.

(Excerpts of a commentary that appeared in the Beijing News on Feb 2.)