Mahua FunAge Fueling the Craze for Comedy in China before its World Tour
A producer and distributor of stage shows since 2003, Beijing Mahua FunAge Entertainment Culture Media Co., Ltd. ("Mahua FunAge") has bloomed into an all-encompassing media enterprise with a portfolio of products such as films, TV programmes, dramas, musicals, children's plays, comedy sketches, variety shows and improvisational theatre.
In the last 15 years, Mahua FunAge has produced more than 30 works, toured over 50 cities across China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Tianjin, and performed over 2,000 shows annually, becoming a leading force in China's comedy scene. In recent years, the company's annual film releases have all been critically acclaimed box office hits. Never Say Die was the second highest-grossing Chinese movie, and came first at the domestic 2D box office, bringing in a total of RMB 2.2 billion. Their sketches have also been shown at the Spring Festival Gala for several years, and won first-place prizes in Top Funny Comedian and other iconic sketch shows.
Mahua FunAge's comedy style involves engaging stories, touching emotions, and witty remarks on annual social events. It mainly targets a young and fashionable audience, and the 20-40 age group accounts for 70% of the company's tens of millions of fans. Today, Mahua FunAge sketches have become a mass consumer phenomenon.
In November 2017, Goodbye Mr. Loser, a classic play, made its debut at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne, marking the company's first foray into the overseas market. With their unique and powerful stage performance, the troupe presented viewers at home and abroad with a hilarious Chinese comedy, producing constant ripples of applause and laughter with fast-moving plots and densely layered gags. This injected a shot of adrenaline into the creation of original Chinese comedy plays, and enabled Mahua FunAge to bring laughter to people around the globe for the first time.
In 2018, Mahua FunAge will embark on a world tour, taking China's comedy culture to a bigger international stage. As well as classic works such as Goodbye Mr. Loser and Never Say Die, domestic and international audiences can enjoy The Count of Wulong Mountain, a hilarious tale of a survivor seeking revenge, Mr. Shakespeare, Don't be Angry, an odd play as a tribute to Shakespeare, I Am Bai Xiaofei, a drama that breaks the fourth wall, The Three Little Pigs, a Broadway show for kids, and The Three Little Sheep, the first children's rock musical in China. Absorbed in the intriguing stories on stage, the audiences will be seduced by the charm of Chinese comedy.
Picture: Scene from The Count of Wulong Mountain
Picture: Playbill for Never Say Die