Hong Kong comedy group Giggle Generation shares how laughter can relieve city’s stress, help teens develop resilience

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The Cantonese characters in their name represent their belief in the power of laughter to carry people through life’s many journeys.

“It reflects our out-of-the-box comedic style and our experimental mindset,” 26-year-old Wong explained.

Wong, along with Henry Woo Hong-tai, Alec Lam Kin-lik, Indome David Hoe and Kinder Lam Kin-tat, started the group in 2020 after taking stand-up comedy classes together from seasoned comic, Chan Lok-tim.

In stand-up comedy, originally a Western art form, comedians perform their jokes in front of a live audience. Dayo Wong Tze-wah introduced stand-up comedy to Hong Kong in the 1990s. Known for his political satire and incisive social commentary, Wong ended his comedy career in 2018, and Giggle Generation hopes to emulate his success and further the city’s comedy scene.

For about two years, the group has been organising weekly open-mic sessions – that move online when needed – open to aspiring comedians of all ages to take turns cracking jokes in Cantonese.

Last year, they started teaching comedy workshops to youth in local schools and NGOs through their project, Hong Kong Humour Academy.

From writing about relationship problems to the city’s workplace culture, the group admitted the genesis of their jokes and stories often came from difficult moments in their lives.

“We were all upset about the pandemic, the society or the future ... so we wanted to turn this unhappiness into stand-up comedy to cheer us up,” said Woo, 30. “We hope to relieve Hongkongers’ stress,” he added. “Even during these trying times, Hongkongers can look at life in a positive light.”

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While some might assume stand-up comedy is about having a natural gift for humour, Woo said five minutes of stand-up on stage could take half a year of practice.

“We usually mark down ideas from our experiences that can be developed into a skit, edit them, and test them in open-mic sessions to see how audiences react,” he said.

After that, comics typically spend more time continuing to polish the material until it is ready for the stage. Even then, hard work does not always guarantee success in front of an audience. Folded arms and cold faces are a common sight among many local audiences.

“Many expect you to knock them down [with your jokes] ... they always keep their guard up,” Wong explained, adding that many Hong Kong audiences were often more reserved than Western ones at comedy gigs.

For their open-mic sessions, the club has performed in bars in Central, at The Mahjong Hostel in To Kwa Wan, and in small studios in Mong Kok. But when the city imposes strict social-distancing rules, the group is forced to adapt to practising stand-up comedy online.

Recalling their first Zoom session, Woo said, “It was very challenging because we weren’t able to see the audience’s reactions.”

Aside from these difficulties, making people laugh for a living is also a tough task, so all the members of Giggle Generation have full-time jobs to sustain their passion.

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“For the past two years, we did not make much money with [comedy],” said Woo, who works in public relations. “But it is our passion to bring positivity to others.”

“We are not afraid of losing anything or giving too much. We know this is what we want to do,” added Wong, who works as a personal trainer.

The group is so passionate about the power of comedy that they established the Hong Kong Humour Academy to share their enthusiasm for the art with the next generation.

Financed by the Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development Fund, the nine-month project, which began last August, invites young people to tell stories about their lives and express themselves through comedy.

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Their brainchild works with youth aged 16 to 25, including those from low-income families and those facing mental health issues. The project’s goal is to give emotional support to participants and to help them better understand themselves.

“Using comedy, teens can develop mental resilience and transform negativity into humour,” Wong said. “It helps you to know more about your thoughts and fears.”

Now, the group’s next step is to organise two online interactive workshops for students to write skits and try out improvisational theatre, another form of comedy in which performances are spontaneous and unplanned.

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At the end of the day, Woo and Wong believe stand-up comedy can change your perspective and attitude.

“Stand-up comedy isn’t all about winning applause from the audience,” Woo said. “The spirit of it is to connect with audiences through stories you tell.”

To Wong, comedy embodies hope.

“When faced with rough patches in life, comedy is my way out,” he asserted.

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