An interview with rising comedian Li Jin Hao
Ahead of his upcoming tour, Li Jin Hao reflects on the highs of this year's Fringe, the strong influence of the Scottish comedy circuit on his career and the parallels between his stand-up style and sushi
From counting the stars at night, hunting for the perfect coffee during the day or walking past a loch each evening, Li Jin Hao’s approach to the Fringe this year has been one of newfound bliss and simplicity. With little pleasures dotted throughout, the comic experienced the Fringe in a more relaxed fashion than back in 2024 when he first tackled the festival: “That first experience, it’s like sitting an exam, and that’s nobody’s fault but mine. But now the exam has passed, I’m able to remind myself this is something I get to do, not something I have to do.”
Comparing this year’s Fringe to his first, Jin Hao reflects on his current mentality: “The other day I laughed on the bus!” This may sound trivial or small, but much like within his stand-up, it’s these minute moments that reveal the bigger picture. He explains, “In my first year at the Fringe, I don’t think I would have laughed on the bus. But this year, while passing supermarkets, I laughed. I could feel myself looser this time.”
It’s been a fast few years for Li Jin Hao, who only started performing stand-up in 2022, post-pandemic, before debuting his first Fringe show to critical acclaim. Earning an Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination for his brilliant follow-up Falling From A Moon and landing a role in an upcoming Judd Apatow movie along the way, the comic acknowledges his flourishing journey thus far: “I feel so privileged when I talk about it, but everything fell into place so nicely and I am so lucky with the opportunities. In 2019 I was in the Singapore Army, then I moved to St Andrews for university and that’s when it all started.”
It’s been an exhilarating ride from there, as Jin Hao threw himself into the Scottish circuit, balancing it with his Literature and Film degree. “Lectures would end at 5pm, then I’d hop on a train to Edinburgh to do 10 minutes at Top Banana!” Gigging in Dundee, Aberdeen and Glasgow, the comic isn’t shy dishing out praise to the clubs that built his foundation: “I owe everything to Monkey Barrel. In many ways the Scottish comedy scene birthed me. I didn’t have time to think. I just did it.”
Image: Rebecca Need-Menear
It’s no wonder comedy has been kind to Li Jin Hao. His distinct style, lilting turn of phrase and fantastic whimsical fairytales are in a class of their own. Descriptions of the act's unique personal brand often rotate around similar adjectives, but this doesn't always align with how the performer sees himself: "People would call my debut gentle or soft and that’s not exactly how I see myself. I think, in that first instance, you present your best self. That softer side doesn't cost me anything – it’s not a risk. But what I want now is to be energetic like I am with my friends. I want that electricity.”
Ever evolving, Jin Hao graduated in 2023 and is now on the quest to perfect and hone his craft: “I want to have fun on stage. I’m in constant conflict between wanting to rush off the page and say something silly, but also wanting to be professional. I don’t know if I owe the audience my best written work or my best performance. I’m working on marrying the two.”
Hirokazu Kore-eda gets a mention, with the physicality of his movies shaping the way Jin Hao moves across the stage. The sentimentality of Ocean Vuong and the dreamlike magic-realism of Salman Rushdie’s literature are also referenced, and the comic confesses he frequently looks for inspiration outside of the usual channels: “I find myself plucking from different fields, that way I can have different flowers.” The most apt analogy of his own comedy comes from none other than sushi. “It’s just fish, but it’s so delicious. [With sushi, you’re] subtracting and subtracting until you're left with only the perfect ingredients.” It’s that quest for simplicity that captures the essence and intent of Jin Hao’s comedy.
As Falling From A Moon begins touring, it marks another crucial chapter in the artist's rising career. His debut tour, which comes to Glasgow and Aberdeen in October, is a fantastic opportunity to see one of the most assured, singular voices in the modern comedy circuit: “The promise is for every show to be better than the last one, which is a crazy thing to promise,” says the comic, before sniggering and giddily joking “but I do promise that – it’s only going to get stronger! Do not come to the early shows, they will be weaker than the later ones.” Despite his teasing, Li Jin Hao is no doubt a comedian who is exactly where he needs to be, his finger firmly on the pulse.
Falling from the Moon tours to Glee Club, Glasgow, 21 Oct; Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh, 22 Oct