During this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival, five Asian Comedy Showcases are presented by He Huang at Club Voltaire on select nights between April 2 and April 23.
“Give an Asian a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach an Asian how to fish and he takes over your economy in the blink of an eye!” – Chinese mother wisdom.
You definitely do not want to miss the chance of laughing and gasping at racially-charged jokes and stories, with an array of national and international Asian comedians. This will be going down in the wonderful attic of Club Voltaire on 14 Raglan Street in North Melbourne, a time-honoured stand up hotspot for talent spotting, with performances across four weekends in April.
The gigs are happening on April 2 8pm, April 9 8pm, April 15 8pm, April 16 9:30pm and April 23 at 8pm.
Meet the five Master of Ceremonies at these Asian Comedy Showcases
April 2: Aditya Gautam (based in Melbourne, from India)
Born and raised in Delhi, Aditya says he’s the living embodiment of why you should listen to your parents. He might not be funny, talented or rich, but he makes up for it with his good looks. After performing in sold-out shows at the Adelaide Fringe, he is now bringing his tales of racism, Ubers, prisons, Indian dicks and much more to Melbourne. You don’t want to miss out on the best Indian tales ever told on stage.
April 9: Garry Johal (Based in Melbourne, from Singapore)
Singapore-born Garry Johal spans observational humour to the deliciously risqué, his comedy stylings are a heady brew of everything funny, simmered to perfection. Whether it’s regional shows in country Australia or metropolitan Melbourne, Tokyo, or Singapore, Garry Johal has the jokes to make you croak.
April 15: Jenny Tian (based in Sydney, Australia)
Jenny Tian says she’s the nicest person in comedy. She gives lifts home, is never short of compliments, and is always up for a bit of banter. But that doesn’t mean she’s nice on stage. Don’t be surprised by her sweet demeanour, she’ll cut you down if you deserve it. Straight-up delivery, no-fucks-given attitude, Jenny will get you laughing at things you’ve never laughed at before – like ultimate frisbee.
April 16: William Wang (based in Brisbane, from China)
William flew all the way from China to Australia five years ago with the dream of doing stand-up comedy (don’t tell his mum if you bump into her, she still thinks he’s studying accounting). William’s comedy is trying to provide a fresh angle and perspective on our culture differences, taking a cheeky look at Eastern versus Western ways of life. Based in Brisbane and frequently performing in Melbourne and Adelaide.
April 23: Ting Lim (based in Brisbane, from Singapore)
Singaporean-born Ting Lim was handpicked to represent Queensland in the RAW National Comedy Finals in 2011. She quickly became a regular at the Sit-Down Comedy Club with performances across Australia, Singapore and New York. Ting’s comedy has taken her from her native Singapore to outback Queensland performing for drought-stricken communities, to opening for stars like Beth Stellin and Demetri Martin, and sharing the stage with Jimeoin and many more.
Each show is 18+. To buy tickets, head to the Comedy Festival website here. Head to their Instagram page here. Follow them on Facebook here. You can also use the promo code “FUNNYASIANS” to discount full price tickets (including previews and Tightarse Tuesdays) by 20% on April 2, 15 and 16. A limited number of tickets are available.
