Taipei's English-speaking standup scene?

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on September 9th, 2006

A cryptic article in the Tapai Times details the bizarre world of expatriate English-speakers from New Zealand, Canada and elsewhere who do standup and produce open mikes in Taipei, the capital.

He asked to get out but the producer glared at him and whispered he’d better be funny, otherwise the crowd would eat him alive. Speaking into the microphone the producer asked, “What are you going to do?”

“Sir, I’m gonna fuck a chicken!”

Read the rest and see if it makes any sense in context.

We assume that the audiences on most nights are composed of English-speaking expatriates residing in Taiwan. Or, maybe it’s filled with locals seeking to brush up on their idiomatic English.

We have learned, from snooping around on the internet, “there is a big pressure for Taiwanese to speak good English, and this has led to a huge demand for native speaker teachers.” (That was from TaiwanJobLink, a site with oodles of information for those seeking employment on the tiny island off the coast of China, which includes this gem:

Deodorants are not easy to buy in Taiwan. Bring a year’s supply.

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