Laughter at the Lounge

After a successful debut in August, Laughter at the Lounge is back!! Once again, The Golden Lounge is bringing you an Asian comedy night with some of the best comedians on the circuit followed by an after party with DJ sensation, DJ Kye! Let's meet the comedians:

Your host for the evening is Hitz Unadkat. Hitz is a Leicester local who recently moved to Milton Keynes and classes that as an upgrade. His surname is too hard to pronounce so he has to go by “hitz.comedy” on all social media platforms. Hitz has performed up and down the country and is making a name for himself on the comedy circuit. His stories on the ups and downs of being a British Indian will have you in stitches.

Finalist at the Nodding Dog New Online Comedian of the Year 2020, finalist at the Enfield Comedy Club Gong Show 2020, regional finalist at the BBC New Comedy Awards 2021, winner of the Alestone Comedy Competition 2021, runner-up at the Hats Funny ‘Comedy Competition’ 2024, finalist at the Funhouse Comedy ‘Gong Show’ 2024 and semi-finalist: The Stand-Up Club ‘Get-Up, Stand-Up Comedy Competition’ 2025.

“He’s bloody brilliant” (Funny Firm Comedy).

“A truly talented act” (Ian Whitcombe Comedy).

“I’d recommend any promoter to book him!” (Hats Funny Comedy).

“Gave us a right good laugh!” (Laffalot Promotions).

Your opener is Lovdev Barpaga from Birmingham. Lovdev has achieved significant milestones such as appearing on the BBC Asian Network Live Show, Big Value in Edinburgh and also clinching victory at the UK Pun Championships in 2017 and from the back of this, he landed a role as a breakfast presenter for Free Radio in his hometown. Lovdev has also supported some of the biggest names in the UK during their tours from Jo Enright, Darren Harriot, Simon Brodkin and even Birmingham’s very own Joe Lycett. The excitement continued into 2022 when he earned a spot on the "Best In Class" line-up at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in 2023, he was been picked up by the talented agent Susanna Clark from Ingenious Fools.

“The 21st Century, Asian Ken Goodwin" (Chortle).

"One of the most brilliant, daft comedians you will ever see" (Joe Lycett).

"Hurricane of one-liners, old school comedy" (Three weeks).

"You're a very, very dangerous man" (Tony Slattery).

Next up is Bilal Rashid. Bilal is a dark and playful stand-up whose fearless mix of taboo and silly has made him a rising name on the UK comedy circuit. Winner of multiple gong shows and finalist in the Beat the Frog World Series, he’s played the country’s top clubs and made his Edinburgh Fringe debut with his solo show ‘The Pros and Cons of Joining ISIS’.

Then we have Rahul Somia. Rahul is a comedian based in Leicester who has been gigging since his second year of university. His stand up is centred around his misfortune in finding love viewed from the unique lens of a young British Asian working as a secondary school teacher.

Your headliner on the night is the brilliant Raj Poojara! If you were to look at Raj, you’d think what most people think… where the hell is he from? Once you get to know him (and his love for saving money wherever possible), you can easily establish that he’s Indian. Born & bred in London, Raj is the only son and youngest child. His parents had two children, you know, of which one didn’t work out… They were proud when their only son passed his A-levels and went on to study Economics at University. They were even more proud when he graduated and became a Private Banker. So, the obvious next step was to become a comedian… Growing up watching some of the greats and being the “funny guy”, a.k.a “the one with the great personality”, Raj decided to take the leap of faith into the world of comedy! His first performance at the London’s Backyard Comedy club went so well that his second gig was in front of a sold-out theatre as the opening act. After the feeling he got coming off that stage, he knew this was the path he wanted to follow, fighting for as much stage time as possible while always working on new material.

BBC New Comedy Awards Regional Finalist 2021, Manford's Comedy Club New Comedian of the year Semi-finalist 2020, 2Northdown New Comedian of the Year finalist 2021, Max Turner Finalist 2020, Rising Star New Comedian of the Year Finalist 2019, So You Think You're Funny Semi-finalist 2019, Get up! Stand Up! New Comedian of the Year Semi-finalist 2019 and ‘Go New York’ South Ken Comedy Club Finalist 2019.