Heard the One About Asia’s Comedy Scene? First, You’ll Need a Permit
Mr. Mahbubani said Hong Kong’s comedy scene was diverse and somewhat segregated, with some comedians catering to expatriates with material
that deployed exaggerated use of Asian accents, which Mr. Mahbubani felt was lazy.
Mr. Mahbubani performs in both English and Cantonese, sometimes switching between languages within the same joke,
and his material tackles local concerns: Hong Kong’s subway system and his mistreatment by police officers as a Hong Kong-born, ethnically Indian resident.
With its more hands-off local government, Hong Kong has developed into a hub for touring comedians from Asia
and further afield, though its scene is fairly new: Its first full-time comedy club wasn’t founded until 2007.
In Asia, where a youthful stand-up comedy scene is still developing, comedians in China, Hong Kong, Singapore
and Malaysia are finding creative ways to tell jokes about sex and politics, while coming up against cultures of censorship and taboos.
Mahbubani said that This is a franchise.
Vivek Mahbubani, 34, is considered one of Hong Kong’s best and longest-serving local comedians, even though he only started performing 10 years ago.
