Asura Balbalta

At 26 years old, Xiao Ya works for a large corporation. She tends to accommodate others and doesn't express her own opinions, making others comfortable but suppressing herself. In the eyes of others, her life seems great; she has a stable job and a motivated boyfriend. However, Xiao Ya knows she is forcing herself into an uncomfortable situation, just barely holding on. When her boyfriend, Zheng Hao, made three major life decisions for her: changing her job, proposing, and deciding on their housing without consulting her, Xiao Ya finally broke her silence.

She voiced her feelings for the first time at a stand-up comedy bar. She had been drinking and impulsively improvised a routine mocking her boyfriend, which unexpectedly received laughter from the audience and the support of friends dedicated to stand-up comedy. Xiao Ya finally found a stage where she could express herself openly, which brought her joy and marked the beginning of a new chapter in her life.

It tells the story of a down-and-out part-time talk show actress and an aloof male audience member suffering from alexithymia—also known as “emotional blindness”—who get close to each other and heal each other. A love story of a woman who is funny to the end and a man who can't laugh, a love contest begins. However, what connects the romance is not just the emotions between men and women, but also the struggling urban youths living in Shanghai. On and off the stage in the play, the spicy yet observational complaints hit the pain points of life, and the humorous ridicule is light, but it is also full of optimism and open-mindedness.