Last weekend, when Macau citizens and tourists were wandering around A-Ma Temple, Carmo Market or Rose Hall, they were very likely to encounter a pop-up performance by local Macau artists.
After a medley of nostalgic hits from the 1990s that enlivened the atmosphere, there was a collection of excerpts from classic musicals such as "Rent" and "Avenue Q". The artist's infectious singing voice and improvisational performance combined with street style attract the tourists who come and go to stop. On the natural stage formed by the world heritage site, hundreds of people spent a happy time together and gave the actors the most enthusiastic cheers and applause.
This is one of the activities of the first Macau International Comedy Festival co-organized by Happy Twist and Damai. A performance team composed of local Macao musical actors, vocal teachers, resident singers, theater directors, and senior musicians collaborated to create a performance that combines Mandarin, Cantonese, English, Japanese and other languages, as well as different music styles and performance forms. outdoor performances. Like this city where Eastern and Western cultures blend together, tolerance and diversity are its most distinctive features.
In recent years, the Macau SAR government has been exploring diversified economic development and seeking new vitality from the cultural industry. It has proposed to build Macau into a "city of performing arts" and has organized a series of events such as the Macau International Music Festival and the Macau Sino-Portuguese Culture and Arts Festival. Cultural Activities. From November to March 18 this year, the first Macau International Comedy Festival was held, injecting happiness into the city and providing broader opportunities and platforms for local cultural and creative talents in Macau.
A gathering of comedians from around the world
The first Macau International Comedy Festival attracted Zhang Yimou, Ning Hao and other senior directors who have been active in the field of comedy films in recent years. As the founders of the Macau International Comedy Festival, Shen Teng and Ma Li have appeared in many events and shared with the audience the difficulties and rewards of comedy.
is the star-studded pinnacle forum where comedians gather. He Jiong, Fan Chengcheng, Qiao Shan, Song Xiaobao, Wang Baoqiang, Wei Xiang, Allen, Chang Yuan, Du Haitao and other industry practitioners communicated and talked. Zhao Benshan, who had not appeared in public for a long time, made a surprise appearance and was greeted with cheers and applause.
's nine-day comedy festival has set up film screenings, play performances, comedy forums, street flash mobs and many other sections to reach different audience groups. The film screening event held at the Macau University of Science and Technology gathered domestic and foreign comedy masterpieces, such as "Crossing Luxembourg" from Ukraine, "The Man of Action" co-produced by Romania and Bulgaria, and "The Time a Ghost and I Became Family" from Taiwan, China There are many films with very different styles, such as "The Thing" in Hong Kong, China, and "Charlotte" and "Donkey in Water" in mainland China. Actors Allen and Chang Yuan, Thai director Chayanop Boonparakobu, Cambodian director Li Da, Chinese director and screenwriter Zhou Shen and Liu Lu and other domestic and foreign creators appeared at the post-screening session to share their interest in comedy with the younger generation. Participants exchange creative experiences. The
Comedy Festival has entered its second half. Five specially invited plays with different styles have been presented to the audience one after another, adapting to different performance styles. They are respectively at the Macau Cultural Center Black Box Theatre, Parisian Theater Macau, Venetian Theater Macau, Galaxy Macau staged at the International Convention Center.
Among them, "Happy Liaozhai Sansheng Plus", which is the first time that Allen and Du Haitao collaborated on the same stage, is the opening drama of this exhibition. This costume fantasy comedy tells the story of a pair of enemies who have been entangled for three generations. It combines dance, hip-hop and other trendy elements to reflect the reality of contemporary society and resonates with the audience. Since its premiere in 2022, the play has been performed in many cities in the Mainland for more than 400 times. field.
"Hello, Robbery!" is produced by Andy Lau and directed by Rao Xiaozhi. "(Cantonese version) is a masterpiece of black humor, using the story between robbers and hostages to explore the interpersonal relationships and life dilemmas in modern society. China Business News learned from an interview that the play premiered in Hong Kong in February this year, and all six performances were sold out. The show attracted many audiences from Guangzhou and Zhuhai. In their view, this comedy amused the audience. At the same time, it has depth.
In terms of international repertoire, the Norwegian physical comedy "Soccer" and the Spanish musical comedy "The Voice of Comedy" bring the creativity and style of world-class theater companies to the audience. This is also the Asian premiere of the two plays. "Dance for Football" is a dance performance that pays homage to the sport of football, with both power and beauty. "The Voice of Comedy" integrates opera, rock and pop music. Five singers innovatively perform opera classics, blending pop music with arias to awaken the vitality of classic works. During the performance, the Cantonese version of the immersive interactive suspense drama "Crazy Barber Shop" customized for this comedy festival attracted much attention and sold out as soon as it opened. This is a global classic IP with a history of more than 40 years. In 2021, Happy Mahua introduced this IP into the country and has performed in cities such as Shanghai for a long time, with eye-catching market performance. It is worth mentioning that the main actors in the Cantonese version of the performance are all local actors in Macau, students of the first comedy training class jointly organized by Happy Twist and the Drama School of the Macau Academy for Performing Arts.
The Cantonese version of "Crazy Barber Shop" has attracted much attention
On March 17, China Business News reporter met Happy Twist Macau, who was preparing for the last performance of "Crazy Barber Shop" at the Comedy Festival at the Black Box Theater of the Macau Cultural Center Employee Lin Weiqi, she is also the producer of the Cantonese version of "Crazy Barber Shop".
"Crazy Barber Shop" is an immersive interactive comedy that tests the actors' improvisational abilities and also places demands on the audience. This is a performance that requires the cooperation of the audience and the actors. Before "Crazy Barber Shop", similar immersive interactive performances were rare hits in Macau.
Lin Weiqi observed that immersive performances are starting to take off in Macau: "We will be a little late in accepting the interactive culture, but we are willing to try." In her view, immersive theater cannot be directly copied, and the key is to integrate it into the implementation. Characteristics of the city. Specific to "Crazy Barbershop", when considering introducing this IP to Macau, we decided to use local cast and actors to reflect the local language and culture. Therefore, the Cantonese version has been designed with many local elements, such as converting the burdens of the Mandarin version into laughs that resonate with Cantonese-speaking audiences, and incorporating Macau elements into the rhythm, costumes, makeup and hair.
At the beginning, Lin Weiqi was a little worried about the effect of the Cantonese version. This is an experimental work: "Our audience may not only be from the local area, but also from the Greater Bay Area, different places and different cities. We are worried about whether the audience will resonate with it. , can you understand it, will only the actors laugh awkwardly?" After several performances, the audience's feedback brought many surprises to Lin Weiqi and the creative team: "The audience interacted with us very enthusiastically. After the premiere, I knew Our experiment was successful."
China Business News reporters observed at the scene that the final performance was packed with seats. The audience actively participated in the interactive session, asking questions, analyzing, and even contributing jokes, pushing the atmosphere to a high point with the actors. It is understood that Happy Twist is also considering landing the Cantonese version of "Crazy Barbershop" in Macau. Prior to this, there were no permanent performance projects in Macao. Lam Weiqi said: "Happy Twist wants to do a residency because I hope that everyone can watch the plays they like as long as they take the time, instead of ending after five or six performances." Lam Weiqi believes that Macau has the potential to develop the comedy industry, and there is no lack of it. For relevant creative talents, the key lies in whether there is a platform for them to display their talents, or whether there are good works for them to participate in and let the audience see them.
Local performing arts talents are eager to be seen.
China Business News interviewed many local performing arts industry practitioners in Macau and learned that they hope to stand on a larger stage and communicate with a wider audience, and also long for their works to have long-term performances. possible. Huang Jihang, the music director of the art pop-up performance at the comedy festival, told China Business News that, in fact, there are many creative talents active in Macau and they need a platform and opportunity for audiences outside Macau to get to know them.
Pop-up performance director Tam Chi-chuen is active in cross-border creative fields such as stage plays and curating: “Macau has a small population and the scale of performances is small. Once one performance is scheduled, it will end quickly.The average time tourists spend in Macau is about 1.3 to 1.5 days, which means they may only stay for one night to choose an entertainment and leisure item, so the competition we face is quite high. There is not a particularly popular work yet, it may still be in the pipeline, and it also needs to cultivate the audience's consumption habits. "
Giulio Acconci, a famous Macau singer who participated in the pop-up performance, is a veteran in the performance industry. After 2019, he has been active in the Macau culture and art industry. In his view, Macau has found some directions in the entertainment industry: “Many creators keep creating stage plays, but when we really work together to do one thing, I feel like we have just begun. "
Local cultural industry practitioners and social service providers in Macau have noticed that the Macau SAR government has invested a lot of effort in the performing arts in recent years. Ou Yuna, chairman of the Macau Volunteer Federation, told China Business News that the recruitment of volunteers for the comedy festival is open Later, many college students signed up to participate, and Happy Twist enjoyed a high reputation among Macau citizens, especially in the industry. In her view, there are many cultural and creative teams in Macau, and it can be said that a hundred flowers bloom, but not every activity or drama attracts attention: “In the past, resources were not well integrated. In recent years, the government has joined forces with the industry to organize different cultural activities, combining the power of well-known mainland brands to promote cultural industries. "
Large-scale cultural festivals and exhibitions have become an important engine driving the development of local cultural tourism economy, and the comedy industry, as a vertical category popular with young people, has broad room for growth. Through the platform of the comedy festival, domestic and foreign audiences can I saw that Macau has a group of creative talents who love drama. On the other hand, the creative experience accumulated by local actors in Macau in performances can also promote their rapid growth, and at the same time drive the growth of a group of audiences who love comedy, forming a virtuous cycle.
Comedy Resources Linkage to boost industry development
It is worth mentioning that the first Macau International Comedy Festival adopts the "one festival, two places" co-organized model, with the opening ceremony held in Macao, the industry forum and closing ceremony "Laughter is the Antidote" Happy Twist Improvisation The cross-border dialogue between comedy and positive psychology was held on March 18 in Hengqin, Zhuhai, across the water. At the closing ceremony, Zhang Chen, founder of Happy Twist and initiator of the Macau International Comedy Festival, invited comedians from all over the world to gather again in 2025 Macau International Comedy Festival.
It is foreseeable that in the future, through the platform of the Comedy Festival, a number of small and medium-sized plays with local characteristics will be hatched and will continue to be performed in Macau and Hengqin. At the same time, this platform will also Excellent comedy works from around the world are brought together to explore the possibility of them landing in Macau and Hengqin.
Cheng Leer, chief financial officer of Beijing Happy Mahua Entertainment Culture Media Co., Ltd., told China Business News that comedy is a way to achieve different things around the world. The method of cultural exchange is not limited to a single language category or a culture. In places like Hengqin and Macau, where Chinese and Western cultures meet, comedy can create more possibilities.
Lin Weiqi feels that a platform like the Comedy Festival can give more Opportunities for young comedy lovers: “Whether we are practitioners or audiences, we are happy to see this happen. There are local performances to watch every night, just like Broadway. " Lin Weiqi hopes that the Comedy Festival will be held in a five-year plan and held for several more years to discover talents who love comedy or have potential and form a team of comedians: "We don't want to stop, we hope to move forward together with the Macau citizens and the audience. "
