Perth Comedy Festival embraces the many languages of laughter

For the first time ever this weekend, Perth Comedy Festival will present two comedy shows performed entirely in a language other than English.

In a sign of the growing diversity in the comedy industry and in the Western Australian community, Hong Kong comedians Chan Lok Tim and Vivek Mahbubani will perform their stand-up shows entirely in Cantonese.

Chan Lok Tim is up first, hitting The Rechabite this Friday, May 3, while Vivek Mahbubani—a Sindhi of Indian descent who was born and raised in Hong Kong—will bring his new show, Indian Comedian, Cantonese Comedy, to the Northbridge venue on Saturday, May 4.

“The festival is always looking at ways to diversify its offering and bring in patrons from all walks of life to enjoy the art form of comedy,” said Perth Comedy Festival General Manager James Declase. “This year we were presented with the opportunity to host comedians that don’t perform strictly in English and thought of this as a way to expand the comedy landscape in Perth.”

“We are interested in creating a unique offering to a diverse market but also can see that there are certain communities who have not been represented enough in the past, and sought to change that by providing a new and fun program.”

Chan Lok Tim hits The Rechabite this Friday, May 3, followed by Vivek Mahbubani on Saturday, May 4, for Perth Comedy Festival 2024. For more info and to buy tickets, head to perthcomedyfestival.com