If, as the American comedian Milton Berle once said, "Laughter is an instant vacation", then audiences in the Macao Special Administrative Region recently enjoyed a weeklong getaway as the first Macao International Comedy Festival garnered guffaws from March 11 to 18. Diverse comedy films and theater plays from multiple cultures were staged for local audiences at various venues, including the Macau University of Science and Technology, the MGM Theater, the theater of The Parisian Macao, and the Macao Culture Centre.

International theatrical productions, such as the Spanish musical comedy, A Comedy of Operas, and the Norwegian play, A Dance Tribute to the Art of Football, were among the highlights.

Cinematic exhibits included Luxembourg, Luxembourg (2022), Rent Boys (2011), Friend Zone (2019), Back to Love (2022), Mr Donkey (2016) and Men of Deeds (2022).

Additionally, artists took to the streets of Macao for flash mob performances of excerpts from such musicals as Rent and Avenue Q, adding to the immersive experience of the festival.

Co-organized by Chinese comedy production company Mahua FunAge and cultural communication company Beijing Damai, the festival spanned both Macao and Hengqin New Area in Zhuhai, Guangdong province.

Leong Wai-man, director of the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Macao SAR government, notes that such cross-border collaborations contribute to deeper exchanges within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. She emphasizes the festival's role in showcasing China's optimism, confidence, openness and inclusivity through the universally beloved art form of comedy.

The event also features forums and salons where veteran comedians and entertainment industry professionals discussed issues related to comedy development. Renowned director Zhang Yimou, along with director Ning Hao and comedians Shen Teng and Ma Li, shared insights into the sophistication of comedy. Zhang says comedies not only elicit laughter but also prompt reflection on human nature and social phenomena.

Regarding the criteria for evaluating comedy, Ning highlights the importance of humor conveying various emotions or values beyond just laughter, stressing the potential of comedy to reach profound truths without relying solely on sentimentality.

Zhang Zheng, associate professor from the School of Journalism and Communication of Tsinghua University, affirms the hosting of this comedy festival from the perspective of industry development.

"Laughter has a broad market foundation, and comedy, as an important vertical category in the cultural industry, has vast growth potential," Zhang Zheng says.

He believes that taking comedy as a key entry point and focus of the cultural industries in Hengqin and Macao will surely lead to rapid and positive development, allowing the enduring transmission of the power of laughter and culture.

Cultivating new talent

In the diverse array of theatrical performances at the Macao International Comedy Festival, a unique addition has been the debut of a Cantonese version of the interactive whodunit play, Shear Madness.

Throughout the unfolding drama, a murder takes place, allowing the audience to discern clues, interrogate suspects and engage in solving the most amusing mystery in the annals of crime. The outcome varies each time, prompting many attendees to return repeatedly to witness the mayhem.

Since September 2021, Mahua FunAge has been staging the Chinese adaptation of the whodunit play in cities, such as Shanghai, Zhejiang province's Hangzhou, Hunan province's Changsha, and Tianjin.

The Cantonese version presented at the Macao festival was specially tailored for the local audience. Most of its actors are all from the first comedy-training class, co-organized by Mahua FunAge and the School of Theatre at the Macao Conservatory.

"For this rendition, we wanted to involve local Macao actors," explains Zhang Chen, president of Mahua FunAge and the initiator of the Macao festival. "However, since we were unsure of the number of well-trained actors in the region, we decided to organize a training class. Eventually, we found that young people engaged in local theater were enthusiastic and eager to sign up."

He notes that participating in stage plays allows actors to develop a perception of the audience, enabling them to accurately gauge which comedic elements resonate with them.

To enhance the organization of the comedy festival, the Beijing-based comedy company has founded its Macao branch with plans to establish long-term residency performances in Macao to provide more acting opportunities for local young actors.

"We aim to gradually establish roots in Macao. Cultivating a new generation of actors requires careful and meticulous work," Zhang Chen adds.

Lam Wai-kei, a graduate of the University of Macau and a theater enthusiast, became the first employee hired by the Macao branch. She also serves as the producer of the Cantonese version of Shear Madness.

When Lam was a law student at the university, she actively participated in the university's drama club, engaging in both theater performances and production.

She attended evening classes at the School of Theatre at the Macao Conservatory, studying acting. After graduating, she joined a local Macao theater group dedicated to producing original experimental plays.

"Macao has no shortage of young people passionate about the arts. Local young actors are eager to explore different forms of theater," she says.

"I have some actor friends around me who often travel to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou for auditions, seeking opportunities to perform in stage plays.

"What actors need are opportunities, platforms and resources. The Macao International Comedy Festival has provided us with an additional opportunity to engage with and understand comedy, especially in the Mahua FunAge-styled comedic genre," she adds.

In 2018, Lam had a work stint in Shanghai.

She found that both Shanghai and Macao are highly international cities with a fusion of Eastern and Western cultures.

However, in comparison, Macao has a relatively smaller audience size and a lower demand for theater. Lam believes that Macao needs time to mature and develop its performing arts industry.

Before the official debut of the Cantonese version of Shear Madness, Lam organized previews to get feedback from local audiences from different backgrounds and age groups. She noticed that the level of interaction between the audiences and actors was not as high.

"Audiences from the Chinese mainland are already familiar with immersive theater," Lam says.

"But in Macao, it's still in its early stages, and audiences rarely have the opportunity to watch stage plays with strong audience interaction. We need to stimulate interest in this aspect."

However, she is delighted that the more than 20 staff members involved in Shear Madness showed great enthusiasm, often engaging in intense discussions about the script.

"We hope to start with this group of actors, inspire a batch of comedy enthusiasts in the audience, create a positive cycle and ultimately establish the roots of comedy culture in Macao," she adds.

Looking ahead, the Macao festival aims to gradually produce a series of locally distinctive small to medium-sized theatrical productions. These will have residency performances in both Macao and Hengqin, hopefully fostering the growth of comedy in the region, according to the festival organizers.