A Peking Opera performance Photo: Courtesy of Zhao Xin

The annual Beijing International Comedy Festival, which kicked off on Wednesday, has turned to the internet to bring audiences classic and innovative comedies, seminars and dialogues. 

Working with livestreaming platforms in China, the festival's organizers have said they hope to reach a larger audience through online means. These free comedies include innovative Peking Opera performances such as Five Ugliness and Four Beauties as well as Western musicals An American in Paris - The Musical and The King and I.

Theaters in China, one of the hardest hit businesses by the COVID-19 epidemic, have recently reopened with cautious measures after closing for more than six months due to the virus. 

"The whole industry is expecting to return to the stage and have audiences come back to theaters," said director Fang Xu, whose drama The Quest for Love, an adaptation of a novel by Chinese writer Lao She, will also be performed during the festival. 

"Some directors didn't agree with the idea of screening dramas online. I think dramas are a live people-to-people interaction that cannot be replaced, but during the coronavirus outbreak, livestreaming is a safe way to have more people appreciate these performances."