Cohort Revealed For the 2026 BROWN SAUCE Comedy Lab at Tara Theatre

BROWN SAUCE, London's leading South Asian comedy club, and Tara Theatre have announced the eight emerging comedians selected for the third edition of The Comedy Lab, taking place on Saturday 17th October 2026.

The eight selected comedians will take part in a free one-day workshop designed to nurture the next generation of South Asian comedy talent, culminating in a ticketed showcase that evening where each will perform a five-minute set alongside headliner, acclaimed comedian, actor and writer Sukh Ojla, and special guest, award-winning comedian Joshua Bethania.

Meet The Comedy Lab 2026 Cohort:

1. Isabella – Bringing dark, self-deprecating humour to disability, family, the NHS and the strange indignities of being alive, Isabella takes the painfully ordinary and pushes it into the absurd. She may not have won any stand-up awards yet, but she's confident the sit-down comedy awards are hers for the taking.
2. Shugufta Choudhry – A BBC New Comedy Award Finalist 2025, Shugufta reached the competition after only a handful of stand-up performances and has quickly built momentum on the circuit. With a distinctive deadpan style, she blends everyday life and cultural observations with surreal, slow-burn storytelling, quietly breaking expectations along the way.
3. Reese Patel – A 25-year-old British-Indian comedian from London, Reese brings a deadpan, low-energy style to material spanning his Indian roots and the strange social interactions he regularly finds himself navigating. He is the winner of Leicester Square Theatre Sketch Off 2026 and a finalist for West End New Act of the Year 2026.
4. Raj Pander – A Southall native, Raj makes pop culture-infused autobiographical comedy about relationships, divorce, her hometown and Shilpa Shetty. After finding stand-up through Soho Theatre's Comedy Labs, she performed in its 2026 showcase. Away from stand-up, Raj is an ARIA-winning presenter for BBC Radio 1's The Reality Tea, while her independent podcast Almost 40 is a finalist at this year's Independent Podcast Awards.
5. Saloni Gupta – Having started stand-up this year, Saloni draws predominantly from personal experience and is developing a storytelling-led style that finds comedy in the details of everyday life. She is currently building her material on the circuit and preparing to enter her first comedy competitions.
6. Chin Siri – A London-based Geordie Sri Lankan performer, Chinthake mixes personal stories with witty and heartfelt observations. Having already picked up wins at open mic competitions including Slap and Giggle and The Cavendish Arms, he brings an offbeat perspective to the Comedy Lab stage.
7. Yasser Kayani – A comedian, actor and comedy writer, Yasser is a graduate of the National Film and Television School's Writing & Producing Comedy Diploma and was a finalist in the British Comedy Guide Performance Talent Awards. His surreal and anarchic comedy incorporates clowning and impressions, placing familiar characters into bizarre South Asian situations. He can also be seen in mockumentary Act Ting and performs with sketch group Chaos Theory.
8. Anish J – Beginning his comedy journey in improv before moving into stand-up earlier this year, Anish combines personal observations and storytelling with a tendency to take ideas to their most absurd conclusion. Still new to the circuit, his biggest accolade so far may be a text from his mother saying she “kinda enjoyed” his first set.

Previous editions of The Comedy Lab have featured acclaimed comedians Ahir Shah and Nish Kumar as mentors and showcase headliners, with alumni going on to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, secure further performance opportunities at Brown Sauce's monthly shows, and earn recognition across the UK comedy circuit. Paras Patel was a finalist in the Musical Comedy Awards 2025, Qasim Akhtar reached the final of So You Think You're Funny? 2025, while Dipak Patel and Sudeepta Sanyal were both runners-up in the West End New Old Act of the Year 2025.

Sharlin Jahan, founder of Brown Sauce, said: “We're so excited to finally reveal this year's amazing cohort. Every one of them brings a special zuzh (or in this case, spice?)to the Lab, and we can't wait to see them take to the stage alongside our dream duo of Sukh and Joshua on 17th October!”

A home for generations of South Asian performers, writers, directors, musicians and choreographers, Tara Theatre is the UK's longest-running global majority-led theatre company. As it approaches its 50th anniversary in 2027, Tara Theatre continues to create innovative, politically charged theatre, harnessing the power of co-creation and exploring the complexities of our world through a South Asian lens.

Alys Beider, Executive Director and Joint CEO of Tara Theatre, said: “We're delighted to welcome this brilliant new cohort to Tara Theatre in partnership with The Comedy Lab. As two organisations dedicated to giving emerging talent the space to experiment, develop and connect, we're excited to see what this year's comedians bring to our stage.”

Headlining this year's showcase is the hilarious Sukh Ojla. Her stand-up television appearances include The Laura Whitmore Breakfast Show (ITV), The Big Asian Stand-Up Show (BBC Two), Jonathan Ross' Comedy Club (ITV), Comedy Central Live and Comedy Guide to Life (Dave). Her debut solo show, For Sukh's Sake, earned rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe, followed by her critically acclaimed nationwide tour Life Sukhs. As an actor, her credits include Piglets (ITV), Feel Good (Channel 4), Bridgerton (Netflix), The End of the F**ing World* (Channel 4), Black Mirror, EastEnders (BBC One), Silent Roar (BBC Films) and Victoria and Abdul (Working Title).