{"id":35661,"date":"2026-03-12T13:40:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T05:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=35661"},"modified":"2026-03-12T13:40:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T05:40:39","slug":"why-hong-kongs-stand-up-comedians-want-their-art-to-be-taken-seriously","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=35661","title":{"rendered":"Why Hong Kong\u2019s stand-up comedians want their art to be taken seriously"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Hong Kong\u2019s stand-up comedy scene has been gradually expanding and diversifying since TakeOut Comedy Club \u2013 the first full-time venue of its kind in Asia and still the only dedicated comedy club in the city \u2013 opened in SoHo in 2007.<\/p>\n

Comedians-turned-producers today work together but independently, nurturing the next generation of talents and keeping the business of being funny afloat.<\/p>\n

This collective effort, however, is not without its challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople don\u2019t really have a lot of respect for stand-up, especially in emerging markets like here. I want to change that,\u201d says Mohammed Magdi, the Egyptian co-founder of Backstage Comedy in Central. \u201cI really care about comedy as a form of art, so I want the audience to respect it. This is a serious thing \u2013 it\u2019s comedy, but it\u2019s serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Mohammed<\/div>
Mohammed Magdi, founder of Backstage Comedy, in Hong Kong. Photo: Jonathan Wong<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A home for Hong Kong stand-up<\/h3>\n

Magdi began going to open mics in Shanghai in 2013 and became a full-time comedian and the manager of a comedy club in 2016. In 2019, he relocated to Hong Kong, where Live Nation Asia tasked him with opening a comedy club in Lan Kwai Fong\u2019s California Tower.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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