An Introduction to Comedy Clubs in Shanghai

When people talk of nightlife they are generally talking about going out out as comedian Mickey Flanagan so succinctly put it. This means to go out to a nightclub or bar, get drunk, listen to music, dance with the opposite sex and wake up with a hangover. However, there is a third way.

Believe it or not there are two comedy clubs in Shanghai: Kung Fu Komedy and The Shanghai Comedy Club. Both are fixtures in the nightlife scene in Shanghai, running regular stand up comedy nights and also open mics, where the public can come along and have a go for themselves. They also both host international acts regularly.

In general comedy clubs start and finish relatively early, they usually wrap up by 10:30pm, just when some nightclubs are opening their doors. In this way they are different to much other nightlife. But one facet of the comedy clubs that parallels ‘traditional’ nightlife is the booze. As Barney Rivera, the main host at The Shanghai Comedy Club, puts it, “we encourage the drinking a lot. The more they drink the funnier we get!"

The older of the two clubs is Kung Fu Komedy. Started by Andy Curtain and Turner Sparks in 2011, the two came together as they were running separate nights in Shanghai and Suzhou respectively. "We wanted to have a night off from getting blasted in a restaurant," Andy explains, saying there was simply a gap in the market for stand up comedy back then.

Initially KFK used various bars and restaurants to hold their events, but in 2016 Andy had the chance to open up a proper comedy club himself. Initially he wanted the space to be a bar and run by someone else, but with the proviso that the comedy night would be run there regularly. The owners didn't agree so Andy had to run the whole place himself. "It turned out to be great, but it was a huge risk," he says.

As it turns out Kung Fu Komedy is in fact the only all purpose comedy club in China, and the comedians who gig there love it. "It's not uncommon for them to say it's the best club they've ever played," Andy tells us, but to the layman it maybe doesn't stand out. What differentiates it is that there isn’t staff constantly running through the room trying to make sales. It's very tight and intimate (the capacity is 100 people), which creates an intimacy for the shows that's noticeable for comedians. Of course this then creates a special atmosphere for the crowd too.

The Shanghai Comedy Club started in March 2015. Initially working with members of KFK, they eventually went their own way when they merged with another comedy group called Tickler. They now run a show every weekend and open mics every week. The Shanghai Comedy Club really encourages newcomers to join in and to try stand up for the first time. They run workshops with their stable of comedians and try to help newbies ask for advice and pick up tips so that they are more likely to actually take to the stage eventually.

For a period of time the club was moving all around Shanghai as they didn't have a permanent space, temporally housing at Masse, Sasha’s, Jalapeno, My Place, Cuckoo Nest, Dope Shifu, Ruijin Cajun, and finally finding a permanent home at Palmetto. They also work with Cages sports bar to hold big shows with touring comedians, which are free events.

If stand up comedy is something you’ve never tried then there is no better time than now. With two different clubs in Shanghai it’s a great chance to get out and get some laughs before you hit the nightclubs. "I think it's an early evening event,” Andy tells us. “It tends to be a place where people go to kick off their night rather than finish it." If you want take a date somewhere different, have a night off from the bar, fancy a laugh or just want a change of scenery from the usual Shanghai haunts then maybe a night at the comedy club is for you.

Kung Fu Komedy

Address: 4F, 1 North Xiangyang Road, near Julu Road

Open mic is every Wednesday at 8:30pm and every Sunday at 7pm. Entry is free.

The Shanghai Comedy Club

Address: Palmetto, 800 Changde Road, block A3

Open mic is every Tuesday at 9pm and every Sunday at 9pm. Entry is free.

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