A rising star of the Scottish comedy scene hopes to give audiences an "entertaining education" on his life in China at the 2023 Glasgow Comedy Festival.
Mandarin-speaking expat maths teacher Michael Herd spent 14 years living in Shanghai.
He recently returned home to Scotland for good and, after rising through the ranks of China's comedy circuit, the East Kilbride dad is bringing his satirical experiences of culture shock to not one, but two shows at next year's comedy fest.
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Michael’s self-professed cynical and geo-political, anecdotal style has won him plaudits from big names on the local circuit with his hilarious take on life in China already bringing the laughs at the world renowned Edinburgh Fringe and prestigious The Glee Club Glasgow.
Describing Michael's act, The Stand Comedy Club said: "Material has potential... very confident and clear voice".
Michael Herd and Alvin Liu - Stand Up Communism is the first of two shows Michael will take to the stage for at the Glasgow Comedy Festival.
The 38-year-old will join forces with fellow rising star of the Chinese comedy scene Alvin Liu - a Chinese citizen who has just moved to UK and won the prestigious London Comedy Store King Gong competition.
Expect politics, expect absurdity and expect to come out knowing much more about China than you can ever have imagined from two of Shanghai's top comedians.
The show is at Van Winkle's in Glasgow's West end on Saturday, March 18 at 2pm.
Michael told Lanarkshire Live: "For myself, this will be a big chance for people to see me perform my first proper headlining set in Scotland while I wax lyrical about my time in China over 14 years whilst making comparisons against life at home.
"Being part of this festival is really a big milestone and I'm very excited to be involved. It's a great chance to be able to showcase my act to a wider audience and with lots of progression to potentially build a bigger name for myself and all of the acts I have invited onto the shows I have put on. I am excited to share my stories with everyone!"
Show number two - Ex China - sees Michael present a stand up showcase featuring some of the best acts to have cut their teeth in the Chinese Comedy circuit who are now based in UK.
It features some now rising stars of stand up including Adam Hopkins, Basile David and headliner Qin Wang, as featured on BBC and represented by the London Comedy Store.
The show will be on Saturday, April 1 at 9pm at McChuills in the city centre.
Commenting on what audiences can expect from his performance, Michael added: "My set I hope to be an entertaining education covering my life in China with interesting perspectives and stories, ranging from a wife who is increasingly becoming more Scottish than me despite being Chinese, raising a half Scottish and half Chinese son and satirising the way that the authorities take themselves far too seriously.
"I want to pique people's curiosity about China and shatter illusions they have about the place, but with a cheeky and hopefully thought-provoking and humourous manner.
"I hope everyone comes away not only feeling entertained but also that they've learned stuff that could only be understood if you ever lived in China. I assume by the end of it, they will all know how to say the word 'face mask' in Chinese properly - a cheeky reference to one of my jokes."
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