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da wan news on the afternoon of september 26, at the "hey horse comedy" theater on fuyang north road in hefei, gao qian and chen lulu were preparing for the new week's performance. as a "post-90s" crosstalk couple, gao qian and chen lulu founded hefei's local comedy brand "hey horse comedy", which has received a lot of praise and attention for more than 200 special performances. in 2023, the theater stopped performing due to venue issues. in order to welcome the return of small theater performances, the couple and the performance team have done enough homework before, crosstalk, magic, improvisational comedy... the program is rich and exciting every week.

in an interview with a reporter from da'an news, chen lulu said that by restarting the small theater performances, she hopes to bring more joy to the audience and introduce more hefei elements into the program.

more than ten performances have been held and the attendance and response are good.

"since the restart, we have performed 14 shows so far, and every show is full." chen lulu told the da wan news reporter. on the afternoon of september 26, the da wan news reporter came to a cultural block near fuyang north road in hefei. the theater of "hey ma comedy" is on the third floor, and there is an elevator to get there directly. there is a "hey ma comedy" sign on the first floor for guidance. approaching this small theater, there is a tv screen outside the theater playing some programs that the theater has performed, and there is a striking "hey ma comedy" logo on the wall. because there are three performances this week, when entering the theater, gao qian and chen lulu are busy preparing for the performance on september 27.

the new theater venue has been renovated

gao qian and chen lulu are both born in the 1990s and are a crosstalk couple. they graduated from the china northern folk art school and liaoning university of science and technology respectively. since they both joined the hefei folk art troupe, one has been studying performance and the other has been creating works, producing many wonderful works. when it comes to theater performances, chen lulu said that she and her husband often go on stage together, and they will often host the show. when they think of creative ideas, they will discuss them. even sometimes at home, when they think of good ideas, the two will discuss them, and it is common for them to rehearse at home.

chen lulu told the reporter that the theater can now accommodate more than 100 spectators. because it has just returned, the theater has launched some activities and has performed more than a dozen shows, all of which were full. on the sales list of a short video platform, the reporter noticed that "hey horse comedy" has been the top seller of local small theaters in hefei for two weeks.

there is pressure to create new programs every week without repeating the programs

da wan news reporter learned that although the theater performances have not been back for a long time, it has accumulated a lot of "fans". now it has established multiple fan groups, and people often ask and pay attention to the time and program of the performances in the group. gao qian said that compared with the previous venue, they were a little worried about losing some loyal audiences at the new venue at first, but after the performance, they found that some old audiences would drive to watch the performance, which also made them very happy.

the show was well received at the theater (photo provided by the interviewee)

"each show lasts about two hours, and there are usually five programs." gao qian said that the weekly performances are now scheduled on fridays, saturdays and sundays. the main feature of the theater is that the programs are different every week, and new program content is added every week, which is a test of program innovation. the reporter learned that chen lulu is responsible for the creation and update of the theater's programs. it is very demanding for actors and creators to not repeat the programs every week. "we must maintain the vitality of the performance and the passion for creation." gao qian said that program creation and update are stressful. in the performance programs, they will strictly control the quality and strive to bring high-quality comedy experience to the audience.

the performance team includes twin crosstalk performers and a doctoral student

searching for venues, applying for new venues, rehearsing new shows... after the theater was closed, gao qian, chen lulu and the team members have been working hard to bring the theater back. because the theater already has a group of loyal fans, many audiences come to ask about the theater, and they will patiently explain to them.

theater actors are performing crosstalk (photo provided by the interviewee)

"now our performance team is basically fixed. although we stopped performing for a while, everyone has feelings for the theater." gao qian told reporters that including him and his wife, the performance team of "hey horse comedy" has about 10 people, including a pair of twin brothers from the hefei quyi troupe, who have been performing with the company before and are good at crosstalk. not only that, gao qian also introduced other performance members, including a "jack of all trades" who can do magic and talk shows, and a doctoral student at a university. because of their love for comedy, they finally came together.

the reporter learned that after the return of "hey ma comedy", its popularity has gradually increased through performance after performance, attracting more and more audiences to watch, and the tickets for the performances are almost sold out.

the national day will be performed for seven consecutive days and more hefei elements will be introduced in the future

"this holiday may be a little tiring, but i am tired and happy." chen lulu told the da wan news reporter that there will be performances every day from october 1 to october 7, which means that she and her husband have to run between home and the theater every day. chen lulu said that "hey horse comedy" has been liked and paid attention to by many young people in hefei. its programs are mainly created and performed by young folk art professionals in hefei, integrating stand-up comedy, crosstalk, improvisation, talk show and other popular performance forms.

chen lulu (first from right) and her partner performing improvisational comedy (photo provided by the interviewee)

in the interview, chen lulu said that in the future, the program will introduce more local cultural characteristics of hefei, such as science and technology innovation, intangible cultural heritage, etc. in addition to the program content, the crosstalk couple will also work hard on the operation, hoping that the theater can be understood and known by more audiences who like crosstalk and comedy.

photo report by da wan news reporter wei xinxin

edited by zhang dawei