Jin Hao Li talks to Katerina Partolina Schwartz about his debut, Swimming in a Submarine, and the whimsical journey he plans to take audiences on.
I think the magic of stand up is in live... and you create something with this particular set of strangers.
How would you summarise your show?
I have three big childhood dreams and three recurring nightmares, and this is me working through them. I want everyone to feel like they've just been at the playground again. I want everyone to feel like kids again, and they're playing pretend at the playground. But the playground is just all sand and no slides. It's all sand. I want everyone to feel like they're at the sandbox and they're playing. I think children can have so much fun without needing anything, you know? And that's what I kind of want the show to feel like.
As the show progresses, it changes. And I don't really like having a strict theme. I kind of want to just do jokes and we can all just have fun, I guess. I'd much rather that than like, 'oh, this is the emotion.' My show has a lot of emotions for me, but I'm okay if the audience doesn't feel that. As long as they have fun, then I think that's the most important. And I want it to be sincere.
What inspired you to approach your debut in this way?
Desperation, I wanted to do a show. And I think the ocean and the colour blue. Recently I've been feeling very nostalgic, like sometimes I'll look at a tree and it would remind me of a tree that I saw from the backseat of like my stepdad's car when I was younger. I get a lot of nostalgia and I think that's my emotional starting point. But I don't think the show tells you who I was as a child or childhood as a whole. I think it's the feeling of it more than it is about it.
What approach did you take with writing this show?
I go on walks and I talk to myself. I used to study in St. Andrews and there was this big, big sea. And I would just walk down the beach, and I'll just talk to myself. And if something sounds fun, I'll say it. It's hard for me to sit down and write, I think writing happens throughout the day. Because that's when organic things hit you. And then I try to sit down and jot it out. I do a lot of voice notes, I'm a voice notes kind of guy. And I think also my thing is like, if an idea is good, I think you remember it. So, if it stands the test of like a short-term memory, then it's worth doing, you know? Honestly, a lot of times I feel like ideas come to you rather than you search for it. I think you have to just keep living and then ideas will come to you. I think this was more given to me than it is like, “Oh, I have discovered that I can talk about this.” This is just the most sincere thing that's happening to me right now. I feel like this heavy nostalgia. And I think I tried to express that.
What do you hope audiences will take away with them after the show?
I think I want them to feel like this Jin Hao Li person has a deep pool of images that are bizarre, but sincere. And I would love to hear more. II think someone's saying, “I didn't get that. That was weird. “It's just as valuable as someone going, “Man, I really love that. That was so specific.” I did a WIP last night and there were some jokes where only these two people, they really love it. And that's just so special when it's like you're the only person in the room who has that perspective. I think that shapes character. Yeah, I would love for that. I want each performance of it to be special to that day. So no two crowds will get the same experience. I think the magic of stand up is in live, like the liveness of it. And you create something with this particular set of strangers. And I think it's, I feel very lucky to be able to do that. I don't want all shows to go super, it's not possible, I don't think. I think I would like it if I guess some people don't really get it and some people really get it. That makes it more special to me.
