Zhou Libo (comedian)

Zhou Libo (Chinese: 周立波; pinyin: Zhōu Lìbō; born on April 22, 1967, in Shanghai) is a Chinese stand-up comedian. On December 1, 2006, he made his first special performance in Anfu Road, Shanghai. In late 2008, Zhou Libo create his own stand-up comedy called "Shanghai Style Small Talk" (Chinese: 海派清口) which includes A Laughable Talk on the Past 30 Years and A Laughable Talk in Big Shanghai.^[1]

Comedic Style

His comedic style is based upon the Shanghainese style of comic dram which is delivered in a linguistic mixture of Mandarin Chinese, Shanghainese and some English words and phrases. Zhou frequently discusses topics such as urban life, economic and political issues etc. Traditional comic dramas are included in his performances wherein a pair of performers are engaged in conversation and only on occasion break the fourth wall. Shanghainese style comedic performances tend to have only one performer speaking to the audience; a feature that is also found in modern Western stand up comedies.

In "A Laughable Talk on the Past 30 Years", Zhou discussed the drastic changes in Shanghai since the "Chinese economic reform" and also his show covers content such as the changes of clothing trends, ups and downs in the Chinese stock market, and the shoe-throwing incident during premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Cambridge University.

Zhou's material and delivery is entirely improvised when performing on stage due to ongoing and recent events so that the show is 'up-to-date' and keeps up with global events in which he may cover within his show.

Personal life

His parents originated from the Zhenhai district in the city of Ningbo located in Zhejiang province.^[2]

Discography

• Reincarnation (第二次投胎) ^[3]
• A Laughable Talk in Big Shanghai (笑侃大上海)
• A Laughable Talk on the Past 30 Years (笑侃三十年)
• I'm Crazy About Money (我为财狂)

Television Work

• Mr. Zhou Live Show
• China's Got Talent
• Chinese Dream Show

References