A quest for laughs and the accolade of self-worth

For much of Shen Weijian's five minutes on stage, his eyes look straight toward the floor rather than at the audience, his delivery is slow and his hands tremble incessantly.

Shen, 42, a dishwasher, is giving his second performance at a stand-up comedy open mic session and, despite the obvious nerves, he receives a few rounds of laughter.

"I didn't have a strong enough presence and my voice was too low," Shen says, running a rule over this performance in September. "But at least it was much better than the first time, and I reckon that with more practice I'll be even better next time."