CHINESE STANDUP.

CHINESE STANDUP. Standup audiences are supposed to be different from country to country. Nick was warned before he did standup in London that the audience wouldn’t laugh at American material, but he found that what worked for him in America worked in London. An article by Carolyn Cui in the Wall Street Journal (April 13) recounts the tribulations of a Chinese-born standup comedian who has had considerable success in the United States (Letterman, for example), but has had difficulty with audiences in China. The article says that some standup in China now has foot notes: “After the punch line comes an explanation of why it is funny.”