Shanghai set to enjoy a season of laughter with intl comedy festival

The 12th Shanghai International Comedy Festival will run from Nov 11, 2026, to Jan 31, 2027, featuring more than 50 productions from China and abroad across 300 performances. 

The poster for the 12th Shanghai International Comedy Festival. [Photo/Shanghai International Comedy Festival] 

A celebration of comedy in all its forms, this event brings together the playful wit of traditional Chinese operas, the fresh and daring styles of international productions, and the down-to-earth humor of everyday life. Blending old and new, local and global, it promises plenty of laughter across cultures and generations. 

As part of the 2026 China-Brazil Year of Culture, Brazilian puppet theater company Giramundo will present the Asian debut of Alice in Wonderland at Lyceum Theatre. Fifty-five puppets will share the stage with live performers, inviting audiences down the rabbit hole into a fantastical world of wonder and whimsy.

A scene from Alice in Wonderland by Brazil's Giramundo Puppet Theater. [Photo/Show Life] 

French duo drama Entre 2, by La Bande a Chapelle, will also make its Asian debut at Lyceum Theatre. In this play, an accountant and a pharmaceutical sales representative find themselves trapped in a malfunctioning elevator, where tension, misunderstandings, and unexpected humor unfold. 

Other productions on the lineup include the UK shows The Nature of Forgetting and The Play That Goes Wrong, as well as Italy's Shakespearology and La Supercasalinga.