Xiangsheng

Xiangsheng (simplified Chinese: 相声; traditional Chinese: 相聲; pinyin: xiàngsheng; literally "mutual voice"), sometimes translated as cross-talks, is a traditional Chinese comedic performance in the form of a dialogue between two performers, or, much less often, a solo monologue or, even less frequently, a multi-player talk show. The language, rich in puns and allusions, is delivered in a rapid, bantering style. Xiangsheng is one of China's foremost and most popular performing arts, and is typically performed in the Tianjin dialect (or in Standard Chinese with a strong Northern Chinese accent).