Skip to main content
Advertise Buy the paper Contact us Shop Subscribe Support us
‘The house of commons is a posh white peoples’ rap battle’
JAMES WALSH applauds the observations of a new Chinese master of stand-up 

Rice, Alvin Liu 
 

ALVIN LIU is from China, where a thriving stand-up scene has developed in the past few years in Shanghai and Beijing — though your entire venue might get shut down if someone makes a joke that could even vaguely be construed as a slight against the motherland.

No such problems in Britain — yet — and there are some very funny Chinese comics up-and-coming on the London scene, including Chin Wang and the brilliant Blank Peng. Liu definitely has the chops to join them, with his by turns universal and deeply personal observations building up to an excellent debut hour.

Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Book Review / 21 March 2024
21 March 2024
JAMES WALSH is appalled by the implications of introducing AI to the workplace 
Bring on the Clowns / 9 February 2024
9 February 2024
JAMES WALSH is therapeutically disrobed by a disarmingly attentive exploration of harsh truths and nonsense
Concert review / 23 November 2023
23 November 2023
JAMES WALSH enthuses over the evidence that the tunes are even better after the unstoppable sex machine
Festival review / 10 August 2023
10 August 2023
JAMES WALSH happily maroons himself at possibly the most-difficult-to-get-to festival in Britain
Similar stories
Cinema / 15 August 2024
15 August 2024
Inside Afghanistan, Chinese crime thriller, entertaining pants and Alien deja vu: the Star's critic MARIA DUARTE reviews Hollywoodgate, Only The River Flows, Jackpot! and Alien Romulus
Books / 3 May 2024
3 May 2024
At times I was baffled, incredulous, irritated but I never stopped loving this milestone of 21st century science fiction for a single page, writes MAT COWARD
World / 19 February 2024
19 February 2024
Music Review / 29 January 2024
29 January 2024
BEN LUNN reviews an afternoon with the champion of Scotland’s composers