Asian Comedians In Search Of A Laugh To Break Down Cultural Barriers

Wednesday, 16 April 2025, 8:14 pm
Article: RNZ

Duoya Lu, journalist

Asian comedians in New Zealand are seeking to challenge long-standing cultural stereotypes when performing on stage.

Speaking ahead of the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, which runs from 2-25 May in Auckland and Wellington, Asian comedians told RNZ they wanted more performers from their communities to get involved in the scene.

Chinese comedians Summer Xia and Annie Guo are set to debut their first solo stand-up shows at the festival next month.

Xia's routine, A Lil Chiwi's Adventure, recalls her journey of becoming a Chinese Kiwi - from being a bookish student who received top marks at school to confronting casual racism, cultural stereotypes and her parents' obsession with grandchildren.

Guo's show, Guo Back to Your Country, traces her experience of adapting to a new culture and how life in New Zealand has reshaped her identity in unexpected ways.

As a first-generation Chinese immigrant, Guo said her background was an advantage and a disadvantage when it came to performing on stage.

"New Zealand's stand-up scene is very open and inclusive towards immigrants," Guo said. "They're willing to hear different voices. People know that if the comedians all look the same, sound the same and talk about the same topics, it will get very boring."

Guo said language remained one of the biggest barriers she faced as a comedian whose first language was not English.

"It's very hard for me to write puns," she said. "I can do it in Chinese, but not in English because my vocabulary is not very large."

She said cultural references were another challenge for comedians who had been born and raised outside of Western countries.

"New Zealand comedians might tell a joke about a politician or a local celebrity," she said. "But if you don't know who that person is, you won't understand what's funny about them."

Xia is also a first-generation Chinese immigrant who performs stand-up comedy in English.

Although Auckland had certainly become more diverse and inclusive toward immigrants, Xia said stereotypes persisted.

"When I first started doing stand-up comedy, people used to say things to me like, 'You're very funny as a Chinese'," she said. "Looking back, it's not really a compliment - it borders on micro racism."

Xia called for more Chinese comedians to give stand-up comedy a go, arguing that it would help dismantle long-standing stereotypes as well as enrich New Zealand's cultural diversity.

"The more of us who participate in mainstream culture, the more diverse that culture becomes," she said. "When people come up to me and say, 'You're very funny' - that's enough."

She said more representation on stage would also encourage fresh talent to enter the industry.

"If we look back 20, or even 10 years ago, when people talked about stand-up comedy, you wouldn't see many Chinese faces in New Zealand," she said. "For first-generation immigrants like us, whose first language isn't English, we may not have had the same confidence as those born here - partly because we didn't see people like us represented."

Lacking representation

Henry Cheung, a one-and-a-half generation Chinese comedian who was born and raised in Hong Kong and moved to New Zealand at age 13, is set to join several other Asian performers in bringing the ImmHahagrants stand-up comedy show to this year's New Zealand International Comedy Festival.

Cheung described himself as a "rare-ish breed" of Chinese comedian performing in English when he first began doing stand-up in New Zealand three and a half years ago.

He said Chinese comedians remained underrepresented in New Zealand's comedy scene.

"There aren't many of us. There's a lot more comedians like Indian, Fijian, kind of Southeast Asian types," Cheung said.

"There are more role models for, say, South Asian comedians," he said. "You've got someone like [Canadian comedian] Russell Peters [of Anglo-Indian descent], who has been doing stand-up for the past 30 years. He's kind of, like, the Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan of comedy.

"[But] we don't have anyone. There's nobody who was doing comedy in English 20 years ago that you grew up loving."

Cheung said stereotypes and cultural misunderstandings surrounding comedy had created barriers within Chinese communities, discouraging potential performers from stepping onto the stage.

"I think the barrier is more cultural," he said. "People want to be seen as glamorous or cool, and comedians aren't really seen that way.

"You're making a fool of yourself," he said. "It's the kind of performance that, probably some Chinese parents, might look like being a clown."

Cheung said Chinese comedians needed more support in taking the first step toward the stage to represent their unique cultural perspectives.

Takhou Law, a Kiwi Cantonese comedian born and raised in New Zealand, expressed optimism about Asian comedians in the country.

While comedy was not followed closely by Asian communities, there had been a few well-known names making their mark on the scene, he said.

"There are not heaps and heaps of Asian people in stand-up," Law said. "But there are ones that are doing really well, and I think that's only going to lead to more and more Asian comedians.

"You've got people like Ronny Chieng," he said, referring to the Malaysian American comedian and actor "who is obviously hugely successful".

"On the international stage, there's Jimmy O. Yang," he said. "And plenty of other Asian comics who are doing well."

Law said he hoped to see more Asian comedians perform in New Zealand.

"As an Asian, I would love to see more Asian faces in the comedy space," he said. "It's really about making the Asian community more aware that these opportunities are there.

"A lot of Asians have a great perspective and great understanding of the world. The way they see things - as Kiwi Asians or even as Asian migrants - is an ... interesting perspective that can translate well into stand-up comedy and other creative spaces that we haven't traditionally gone into as much."

Comedy pathway

Founded in 2023 and funded by Foundation North and Creative New Zealand through the Asian Artists' Fund, the Pan-Asian Comedy School Aotearoa seeks to help Asian creatives transition into stand-up comedy and address the lack of Asian voices in the industry.

Jess Karamjeet, founder of the school, said the program had supported talent from a range of cultural backgrounds, including Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian, Pakistani, Indian and Indo-Fijian.

"We can often be pigeonholed as being the 'same' because of our otherness," Karamjeet said. "But, ultimately, this creates community and shows the nuance of perspectives."

Karamjeet, a stand-up comedian, television writer and producer of British Indian descent, emigrated to New Zealand in 2019.

She said Pan-Asian comedians in New Zealand typically participated in fewer open mic events and had limited opportunities to perform.

"That's why I produce and host the [comedy show] Asian Comedy Takeover," she said. "Sometimes we have to carve out our own space."

Karamjeet said several producers of South Asian and Chinese heritage had worked hard to create shows in which comedians could perform in their own language and connect with specific audiences.

"I recently opened for international touring comic Devanshi Shah, whose gig was in Hindi," she said. "Even though I don't perform in Hindi myself, it was cool to be able to joke about my biracial roots and share what that means with a crowd who might not be exposed to that kind of material."

She said New Zealand's comedy scene needed greater representation of talent from diverse backgrounds.

"I definitely think there's some way to go before we can say New Zealand comedy is fully representative of the people who make up Aotearoa," she said. "But change doesn't happen overnight.

"I'm hopeful that the ripple effect of the comedy school will continue to introduce more people to the art of stand-up comedy.

"It's a really fulfilling pursuit, especially for marginalized voices, and many go on to perform or feel more confident in their personal or professional lives."

© Scoop Media

RNZ

New Zealand's public broadcaster, providing comprehensive NZ news and current affairs, specialist audio features and documentaries.

Radio New Zealand is a Crown entity established under the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. Radio New Zealand News are vital elements in our programming, providing impartial news and information to New Zealanders every day. Radio New Zealand (RNZ) provides listeners with exciting and independent radio programmes in accordance with the Radio New Zealand Charter.

Contact RNZ

• Website - www.radionz.co.nz
• Twitter - @rnz_news
• Facebook
• Link - Contact RNZ