Award-winning comic and finalist at the 2025 BBC New Comedy Awards, Evaldas Karosas is only six years into stand-up, yet his command of structure, rhythm, and delivery could easily rival comics with twice his experience. The Lithuanian-born, London-based performer digs into his frugal upbringing, dating struggles, masculinity, and self-worth with warmth and wit in his 45-minute show.
Life looks different when you’re broke, Karosas explains, something that has shadowed him since childhood in Lithuania. He reminisces about the annual heartbreak of cheap Christmas gifts blamed on Santa, arguing parents should be honest about being poor. Today, his thriftiness lives on in creative cost-saving schemes that often make dating more complicated.
From struggles like these, Karosas builds hilariously absurd spirals. For instance, when he talks about male insecurities, he’s the first to admit he’d fall for any invention promising a bigger penis, especially since, as he says, body positivity doesn’t quite have the same meaning in Lithuania as in the West.
While it’s true that women often accuse men of being superficial, he shows with disarming candour how he might be deemed undateable simply for being two centimetres below what women consider an acceptable height. He confesses the despair of seeing how other men present themselves on dating apps, triggering insecurities he didn’t even know existed.
Processing breakups through clubbing, he notices, is an entirely different experience for men than for women, and he makes a persuasive case for why perhaps men are better off keeping their feelings bottled up.
Karosas tackles the classics: dating, porn, homophobia, racism, even the obligatory d*ck jokes, but finds fresh angles that steer clear from hack. Carried by his natural charm, he can get away with anything, even a bit about trying to suck himself off.
It’s a show that is layered, full of rhythm, nuance, and of course, punchlines. His satisfying comebacks, act-outs, and bang-on Scouse accent round out the set with energy and specificity. Beneath the deadpan jumpers is the wit of someone who knows he’s ridiculous and relishes proving it.
