Stand-Up Comedy in Vietnam: Where to Watch Live Shows

You are in Vietnam, you have eaten your weight in noodles, and you would like to see some live comedy. This is a reasonable thing to want. It is also a slightly harder thing to find than a bowl of pho, so here is an honest guide to where stand-up lives in the country, and where we fit into it.

A disclaimer up front: Out of Pocket is a Saigon comedy collective. We run shows in Ho Chi Minh City and nowhere else. We know our own city well and the rest of the country less well, so where we are not sure, we say so instead of making something up.

The short version

Stand-up in Vietnam is a young scene, and it is spread across a few cities rather than concentrated in one. It exists in Vietnamese and in English, in different rooms with different crowds. The English-language side tends to be small, run by volunteers and organised through social media, which means schedules change and the best information is usually a recent Instagram post rather than a website.

Saigon, Hanoi and Da Nang

Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) is where we are, so this is the part we can vouch for. There is a regular English-language stand-up scene here, and Out of Pocket is one of the groups running it. If you are in the city, the shows page lists what is on.

Hanoi is a separate scene from ours. We are not based there and will not pretend to know the regulars, the rooms or the weekly schedule. Da Nang is the same story: we have not run shows there and cannot tell you what is on this week. In both places, the sensible approach is to look up local venues and comedians on Instagram a few days before you arrive, since listings change quickly.

We would genuinely rather point you to the right room than keep you here. If you are passing through another city, contact us and we will email you a current list of open mics in Vietnam and other show runners around the country.

A very short history of English comedy here

The honest summary is that it is recent and it is grassroots. English-language stand-up in Vietnam has mostly been built by amateurs and enthusiasts: people who started at open mics, kept showing up and slowly pulled an audience together. There is no century of tradition and no agreed history, just a series of nights run by people who liked doing it. That is also why the scene feels friendly. Nobody here is protecting a brand. We would rather leave out the dates than guess at them.

How travellers can find a show

• Start with the city you are in and search for comedy nights there, then check the most recent posts, not the oldest ones.
• Follow venues and organisers on Instagram. In this scene, the feed is the schedule.
• Ask the staff at your hostel or hotel. Someone has always been to something.
• Check whether the show is in English before you buy a ticket. It will usually say so, and if it does not, ask.
• Arrive a little early. Comedy rooms here are small, and the good seats go to the people who showed up before the start time.

What to expect at an English-language show

Expect a mixed crowd of long-term residents, local English speakers and travellers. Expect jokes about living in Vietnam, which are funnier if you have spent even a week here. Expect adult material, because comedians are not famous for restraint. And expect a night that runs on enthusiasm more than production budget. Comedy in Vietnam is not trying to be a Netflix special. It is trying to be a good night out.

Where Out of Pocket fits in

If your trip includes Saigon, we are the obvious first stop. Our shows run a couple of times a month, mostly at Alibi - Bar & Bites in District 3, with some nights at venues like Shout Bar in Thảo Điền. A typical night is a local lineup, sometimes with a touring headliner on top. Many shows are pay what you want, and the rest are ticketed, with the price listed on the show page. You can see what is on right now on our Ho Chi Minh City comedy shows page, and meet the people on stage on the comedians page.

If the dates do not line up with your trip, join the mailing list in the footer anyway. We only email about shows, and next time you are in Vietnam you will already know what we are up to.