You must be joking!

Shi Guoqing, founder of Wang Mudu Theater, plays an old farmer guiding a volunteer teacher to a school in the mountains.

A young girl from the countryside is amazed by the skyscrapers in the city. Craning her head, she starts counting the floors: "One, two, three ..."

She is cut short by a local troublemaker who demands 10 yuan for each floor she counts. The girl timidly hands over 50 yuan. But as soon as the man leaves, she bursts out laughing.

"What a fool! I counted up to the 10th floor, so I've made 50 yuan today!"

The audience members, who have been giggling at the girl dressed in glaring flowery pants, a short black overcoat, red tie and a pair of heavy black-rimmed glasses, explode in laughter.

Welcome to the newly opened Wang Mudu Theater in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, where comedy shows with a strong Shaanxi flavor are performed from Friday to Sunday.

In the past few years, crosstalk (xiangsheng) and other types of comedy shows have gained popularity in China, with Guo Degang's Deyunshe and Zhao Benshan's Liu Laogen Grand Stage attracting growing audiences.

Wang Mudu Theater, founded by retired chemistry professor Shi Guoqing, is also catching the wave. Wang Mudu, or Wang Mudengr in the local dialect, is a much loved comic figure created by Shi some 30 years ago. Locals call naughty boys mudengr, which literally means "wooden calf".

Though pushed by his father to study chemistry, Shi loved the stage and in 1980 he brought country bumpkin Wang Mudu to life in a skit that won first prize in a national competition.

The naive young man speaking in Shaanxi dialect became a national star in 1988, recounting his sports talents at the CCTV gala show on the eve of Spring Festival.

"I broke the record in the hammer throw but the International Olympic Committee wouldn't recognize it. They said the record didn't count as I threw myself with the ball."

Some 10 years later, Shi quit the stage to concentrate on teaching at the college of chemical engineering at Northwest University. Now he has retired he once again has more time for traditional folk arts.

"I'm nearly 70 and I can't climb mountains, so I can't be after fame," Shi said at the opening of Wang Mudu Theater, in August, which attracted stars like Jiang Kun, Li Jindou and others.

"I'm going downhill. I just hope I can go slower, so I can contribute to the building of a platform to gather Shaanxi folk performance art talents."

Although Shi did not perform any Wang Mudu skits, he was the soul of the party. At the beginning of the show, actors gathered around Shi, introducing themselves as Wang Mudu's cousin, uncle and so on. Clearly, Wang's family tales will gradually be part of the theater's future focus.

Shi took the stage as an old farmer guiding a volunteer teacher to a school in the mountains and carried a stout young lady off the stage as part of his performance.

The shows change each night. Before the National Day holidays a woman who calls herself "Mengna Lisha", or Mona Lisa (because her real name is Meng Na), gave a standout performance as a short girl who constantly pokes fun at her solemn, tall partner. Her father and younger brother have also appeared on CCTV comedy shows.

Like the famous Lao She Teahouse in Beijing, Wang Mudu Theater also presents a variety of shows such as magic and acrobatics, with an emphasis on local culture.

The Meihu Opera, a folk opera closely related to Shaanxi's iconic Qinqiang Opera, has also been featured. Xu Songlin and Duan Guizhen sang in countryside dialects hard to comprehend elsewhere, but the speed and expressiveness of their delivery were memorable.

The show came to an end with Ren Shihe, a half-bald amiable man in his 60s. With his back to the audience, he put on a pair of sunglasses and turned around, in an imitation of Chen Yi, the former foreign minister.

Then he impersonated Saddam Hussein, with just a cap, moustache, tie and a belt. He promised those who wanted to go to Iraq a villa, a limo and even an oil well. But, "as the rule goes, I can't stay at any place longer than three minutes", so off he went.

Time: 8-10 pm, Friday-Sunday

Tel: 029-88251888

www.pinyiyuan.com

Add: No 393, Nan'erhuan Xiduan, Xi'an

Ticket: 80 yuan for side seats, 120 yuan for front row seats with sunflower seeds and snacks. Fruit needs to be ordered separately.