Comedians are back on Beijing stages – mic in hand, the spotlight shining on them and with lots of jokes up their sleeves.

The Danliren Comedy Club, a household name in China, staged their first event last month, on the night of July 10, after a months-long hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"[We] didn't expect that the epidemic would last for such a long time," the founder of Danliren said.

Some small performances had resumed in early June but were forced to stop again because of the virus flare-up in the capital.

Stand-up comedy is a new thing in China, with open mic nights first emerging Beijing and Shanghai in 2009. 

TV skit series and roast shows like "80's Talk Show" and "Rock and Roast" were such a success that they drove audiences to check their local bars for a dose of belly laughs.

But this year has dampened the mood.

Danliren Comedy Club's last show was on January 17, Jiefu told Shanghai-based The Paper outlet, then nothing. The curtains were drawn on all entertainment activities. And it wasn't just stand-up comedy. Nearly 8,000 performances were also canceled or postponed in China, resulting in a box office loss of more than 1 billion yuan.

Some comedians tried their hand at online shows as more Chinese were spending more time and more money on live entertainment. But the transition came at the expense of interactivity with the audience.

"All we can do is wait for the restart of theaters," Shi said.

On top of the pandemic, the industry have been marred by high-profile incidents.

Famous comedy writer Yang Xiaoxing, known by his stage name Laibao, died of myocardial infarction on July 19. Laibao's social media was filled with complaints of great workload.

Another stand-up comedian, Kam, was sentenced to prison for drug-related charges on the same day as Laibao's death.

The 25-year-old man was of the rising stars in the domestic comedy industry after taking part in Rock & Roast. He claimed he was on drugs for medicinal purposes to bring his bipolar disorder under control.

The struggle is very real. Stand-up comedy is a brutal business, taking originality at its cornerstone. But protecting original work is not easy. Comedians find themselves striking a difficult balance between promoting their shows online and risking having their material plagiarized.

The show must go on 

The third season of "Rock & Roast" has quickly become one of the hottest TV shows, fetching a score of 7.5 on review sharing platform Douban. The performances involve more sobering discussions of social topics, opening a new door to the golden age of talk show.

In each weekly episode, seven contestants perform 10-minute stand-up routines, which are ranked by celebrity judges and the audience. Those who receive the most votes then enter the final round and duke it out for the champion title.

A skit on gender discrimination and female stereotypes by comedian Yang Li has found cheers online, while another poignant act by Zhang Boyang targeted plagiarism in the industry.

Topics like idol culture and economic inequality were also on display, provoking thoughts a lot more than laughs.