Melbourne International Comedy Festival review

Freedom is at the heart of He Huang’s debut stand-up hour, although her appealingly straightforward conversational approach never labours any such messages.

On an obvious point, moving to Australia three years ago gave her liberty to perform comedy and speak out in a way the Beijing regime would never allow. But more significantly, Bad Bitch is about the freedom to escape her conservative upbringing in a traditional family in a city that’s relatively small, at least by Chinese standards.

Away from societal expectations of what a woman should be, she’s embraced her freedom of speech to tell ‘pussy and dick jokes’,  following in the footsteps of so many other rookie comedians.  While some of these feel a bit cheap, she can add a context others cannot.

In China being unmarried in her late 20s would have her branded as a ‘leftover lady’, even though society puts obstacles in the way of finding a partner, such as a strict ban on students dating on campus.  That meant she lost her virginity late – only after moving to the US to study – and she now delights in the sexual liberation moving to the West offers

Speaking frankly about this provides the storytelling heart of an hour which starts more straightforwardly, with some mischievous subversions of Chinese stereotypes and witty icebreakers about the pronunciation of her name.

As a relative newcomer to the country she also recalls experiencing common Australian traditions for the first time, allowing her to see them with the fresh eyes that are so vital to observational comedy. Things like Christmas dinner, catcalling and the liberal use of the c-bomb as a term of endearment.

Meanwhile jokes about ‘dictator Dan’ Andrews’s lockdown measures in Victoria take on an extra edge when told by someone with experience of the real thing.

She’s an understated performer, but an engaging one, with a breadth of material that keeps things interesting. And away from the low-hanging sex jokes, the originally of her experiences and her openness in discussing them provides depth and makes this a quietly impressive debut

Review date: 21 Apr 2023
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Melbourne International Comedy Festival