Traditional comedy tickles audience pink

Comedy has always been an essential part of show business. And the New Year holiday is certainly not a time for the country's most popular version of stand-up comedy to take a rest. Last weekend, a raucous gaggle of crosstalk performers had an audience roaring with laughter at the Grand Theater of the Cultural Palace of Nationalities in Beijing.

Nearly twenty of China's most notable comedians showed no mercy as they gave the Beijing audience two side-splitting nights of traditional crosstalk. With a lineup of veteran performers in their 50s and 60s, as well as some rising stars, the show consisted of dozens of comedy dialogues and monologues. The verbal banter and physical antics on stage filled the packed theater with waves of laughter.

Crosstalk is a century-old form of entertainment indigenous to Beijing. Known in Chinese as "xiangsheng", the performance art was the predominant form of comedy in the north of China throughout the 20th century.

Usually presented by a duo, it takes the form of humorous teasing and fast-paced exchanges between performers. The content varies, too, combining burlesque, parody, satire, mockery, and sometimes physical comedy.

After a decade of decline in the 1990s, the comic stage art has been regaining popularity in recent years, especially in the northern regions of the country.