Five minutes with…Hong Kong comedian Bianca Lau
From Gotham Comedy Club in NYC to TakeOut Comedy Club in Hong Kong, Lau reps for all the Asian female comics trying to get their foot in the doorAsian, female and funny. Three descriptors that, in the world of mainstream comedy, typically bring either Ali Wong or Margaret Cho to mind… and that’s about it.
Zeroing in on Hong Kong, a city that’s home to a pretty bustling community of amateur and professional comedians, it’s interesting to take note of the lack of female representation. Not because there aren’t any female comedians, but because it’s a predominantly male-run industry.
Working to change that for Hong Kong is Bianca Lau. She grew up in the fishing town of Aberdeen before moving to places all over the world including China, the UK, Abu Dhabi and eventually, New York City, which is where she fell into the crazy, compelling world of standup comedy.
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Now, she’s a professional who’s gone all in, leaving her previous job as a flight attendant behind. Although, when originally asked what she did before committing to the craft, she responded with “I think it’s okay for me to admit it now but I was actually an international spy.” So, who’s to say what the truth is?
Lau has tried it all, from theatre in the UK to getting the chance to perform at Gotham Comedy Club in New York City, a comedy club that’s hosted the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Pete Davidson, and Marlon Wayans.
Bringing her talents home, Lau is now the proud show-runner of Hong Kong’s first female-founded, recurring comedy show, Hot N Spicy. Its last iteration in July completely sold out.
Hosted at TakeOut Comedy Club on Elgin Street, a bring-your-own-booze type of venue that’s been around for 15 years, it’s a show with a revolving door of comedians from different walks of life–from expats and comedians with disabilities to other Asian-women comedians.
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Bianca Lau is also one of the six women in a new comedy troupe, Bitches in Stitches, that’s quickly gaining traction in Hong Kong. Fran Ayala, a Filipina comic, is one of the co-founders of this troupe and they take the stage every month at Bobby’s Rabble’s ‘Comedy Unpopped’.
To Lau, the growing interest in women comedians is just proving what she already knows: “Yes, women are funny. The reason why women are seen as unfunny is because there are not that many opportunities for them to be funny,” she says.
“But it’s as simple as monkey see, monkey do, right? Like, if you attend a show and see all male comedians but think ‘I want to do that’ as a woman, you might think ‘okay, maybe this is not for me.’ But if you see people like me on stage, you’re like, ‘Oh, maybe I can do that.’ So now things are changing. There are so many more female comedians. It’s opened my eyes.”
Catch the next Hot N Spicy show at TakeOut Comedy Club on August 12. Bring a bottle of wine and be ready for some tear-inducing laughter.
