THE lack of stand-up comediennes in China has puzzled Yang Li for some time. The 28-year-old comic, who made her stage debut in 2017 and turned professional the following year, when she also started writing scripts, has been struggling to come up with an answer.

As Yang, one of China’s few female stand-up comediennes, has gained a fan base during the past three years, she has continued to think hard about this issue. When she discussed it with her younger brother early this year, she found his opinion both hilarious and relevant.

Her sibling said: “It’s not just stand-up comedy. Many industries have far fewer women than men. For example, in ‘The Avengers’ (in Marvel Comics), there’s only one female superhero, Black Widow.”

Bursting into laughter, Yang conceded that he had a point since, like most stand-up comics, the superheroes in “The Avengers” are mainly men.

When Yang appeared on the third season of the popular stand-up comedy reality show “Rock & Roast,” which premiered July 22 and was produced by the online streaming platform Tencent Video, she became an instant sensation with her sharp views and unique humor.

“When men become superheroes, they save the world with their wit and power. What about Black Widow? Her superpower is that she doesn’t age,” she said on the show. “She is always beautiful and in good shape. Audiences don’t want to see a female superhero who is 60 years old and looks out of shape.”

Yang’s performances, which usually last about five minutes, have not only given her the chance to continue competing on the show, but have stirred a considerable amount of online discussion about the topics she addresses, such as gender issues, single women and prejudice against females.

It was not the first time that Yang had performed on “Rock & Roast,” which premiered in 2017. With some 2.3 billion online views, the show is aimed at popularizing stand-up comedy among Chinese audiences.

Last year, Yang failed to reach the semifinals of the show, but this year she set out to challenge herself.

“With more opportunities to perform onstage, I feel much more comfortable and confident. I am a woman and I tend to address topics that concern women, based on experiences in my life. I feel fulfilled after I finish my performances.”

The origins of stand-up comedy can be traced to Europe and North America in the 1800s.

However, it is still relatively new in China, with open mic nights first emerging in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai in about 2009. Successful stand-up shows, such as “80’s Talk Show” and “Rock & Roast,” have seen the Western style of comedy take root in China, attracting many young fans.

Some bars and clubs in the bigger cities offer Chinese stand-ups the chance to perform to live audiences.

With the profession taking off in the country, these stand-ups can now make a living from it, but some also have to continue doing their day jobs.

Although there are still only a few stand-up comediennes in the country, some of them have shown they have the talent to perform and have won large fan bases with their views on life from a feminine perspective.

Fifty comics from across the country — 13 of them female — took part in the first round of competition for third season of “Rock& Roast.”

In addition to Yang, twin sisters Yan Yi and Yan Yue stood out with their performances on the show.

Born in Jiangxi Province, the 25-year-olds began their careers as stand-up comics after graduating from Southwest University of Political Science & Law in Chongqing three years ago.

They got into the business by taking part in a workshop launched by Shanghai Fun Factory Entertainment Co. in 2017, before becoming stand-up comedy scriptwriters.

The twins were encouraged to take part in the workshop by the writer, scriptwriter and stand-up comic Li Dan.

Li, 30, was a scriptwriter for the “80’s Talk Show.” In 2017, he helped launch the first season of “Roast,” which was a huge success. Four seasons of the show have been broadcast, attracting a total of more than 7 billion online views.

Yan Yi said: “Starting out in stand-up comedy can be overwhelming and a little scary. Li Dan kept encouraging us to write and perform, which was tempting but challenging for us.”

Last year, the twins performed during the second season of “Rock &Roast,” but finished last.

However, this year, they won plenty of laughs and applause during their appearances on the show, far-exceeding their expectations.

One of their routines centers on prejudice about women’s weight. They tell jokes about the fashion house Brandy Melville and its line of extra-skinny clothing.

“We actually went to one of the stores to shop. Many young women were trying to shimmy into Brandy Melville’s only-size skinny jeans, and this inspired us to talk about weight discrimination,” Yan Yi said.

After one of their performances, an audience member posted on a social media platform, “After watching you perform, I decided to stop obsessing about size.”

Yan Yue said: “We never expected to be able to bring about change. In addition to being funny, we want to deliver thought-provoking ideas with our performances.

“The best part of performing stand-up comedy as twins is that we can easily catch people’s attention. However, it’s also a disadvantage for us, because we have to make the act work as a pair and we cannot improvise.”

The twins also said that since stand-up comedy in China is still in its infancy, there is huge potential for it, with performers continuing to test their ideas onstage and audiences keeping open minds.

(China Daily)