Shanghai (CNN) -- Kungfu Komedy Club looks much like any other back room in a Shanghai bar. But at show time, the Chinese mainland's first and only full-time stand-up comedy club becomes a carefully-honed weapon of mass hilarity directed at the audience of locals, expats and tourists that frequently packs the room. The club is at the epicenter of a thriving stand-up scene that a few years ago did not exist in the city, and that ultimately could bring stand-up comedy -- an artform virtually unknown in China -- to the masses. Kungfu Komedy started in February 2011 when a small group of enthusiastic novices put on a show in the corner of a dive bar. The group's Australian founder, Andy Curtain, is the first to admit it was "as bad as you'd expect."
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Stand-up comedy is an art form virtually unknown in China
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But Shanghai comedy club hopes to bring stand-up to the masses
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City now home to several open mic nights a week in both Chinese and English
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Stand-up is a tough sell to older generation; younger people more open
The next great frontier for comedy is China, and the heart will be @placeholder," says Bradley.