It's all Chinese for French stand-up comic

Bad timing, jokes that fall flat or an audience that just doesn't get it; such occupational hazards can lead to a slow, painful "stage death" for the stand-up comic.

French comedian Patrick Veisselier, however, has decided to risk all three from this week when he stages his one-man show Patrick Le Chinois (Patrick the Chinese Man), performed entirely in Mandarin, a language he has never spoken before.

Based around the idea of a French-man who sets out to become a Chinese man because he believes they have better lives, Veisselier will be hoping his cultural observations and accent can hit the mark for his audience of mostly Chinese expatriates in France.