Comedy Beijing: Where to Go to Laugh Your Ass Off in the Capital

Joey Knotts, Contributing Editor | Sep 6, 2020 2:30 pm | Add a comment | 2168 reads

Impending weather changes mean that the cold season is almost upon us, and while the best medicine is always hot water, the second-best is laughter. Beijing may have bidden farewell to the US-China Comedy Center and the Bookworm, two former hot spots for comedy shows, but there are still a few. So boost your immune system with a healthy dose of jokes that are sure to be much funnier than the opening sentence of this post.

Here’s our round-up of all the English and bilingual funny business in Beijing.

Comedy Shows

Stand-up comedy shows are still looking for a permanent home after the loss of the aforementioned venues, but for the time being Comedy Club China still holds a show every once in a while at Sculpting in Time, Sanlitun location, as well as The Great Outdoors. For more information on show dates and how to get tickets, follow Comedy Club China on WeChat (ID ComedyClubChina).

Open mics

Too cheap to pay for your laughs? Weekends not your thing? No problem. There are two free shows every week in which comedians of all levels of experience – from the pros to the audience members who got drunk enough to get up and tell a funny story – are all allotted the same amount of time to elicit chuckles and respond to hecklers.

Tuesdays at Paddy O’Shea’s
Grab a Guinness and get ready for some up-and-close comedy at this award-winning Irish Pup and home of the longest-running comedy open mic in the city. Paddy’s rowdy crowd is always good for an interactive experience as comedians often engage in banter with the audience.

Wednesdays ay XL Bar and Restaurant

The latest addition to the comedy open mics, XL is offering a good mid-week as you fill up on pub sandwiches and wash away your hump day sorrows with Chinese craft gin and Japanese whiskey.

Thursday The Great Outdoors
Formerly restricted to just Thursday open mics, the third-floor space of The Great Outdoors is just too good to not use for stand up shows. Even so, the open mics are still ongoing, and compared to the above choices where much of the audience is often made up of beer-seeking bar-goers held captive by an open mic they didn't know was happening, the stage room at the great outdoors is ideal for comedy viewing and attracts an audience that has come specifically to laugh.

Improvisation

The once-thriving Beijing improv scene has been somewhat rocked by the coronavirus outbreak, but there is at least one troupe still active English-language group called Beijing Improv, who also perform regularly at the Great Outdoors, where they also hold the occasional workshop for aspiring improvisors. Follow their WeChat account (ID: BeijingImprov) to keep up with their events.