E XTRA dates have been added to Omid Djalili's new tour show Iranalamadingdong. This news follows from his successful spring tour of Omid Djalili Live as well as performing in New York, LA, San Francisco and Washington DC last year.
In his new show, Omid will discuss overcoming your fears, relationships, the perils of celebrity and getting older.
Omid said: "A lot of men in their forties try to do things to prove themselves. For me it was a choice of going on tour, learning to ride a unicycle or understanding Judaism."
Omid's performances on stage and screen have won him plaudits the world over. Credits include Fagin in West-End smash-hit Oliver! and Mahmud Nasir in The Infidel.
But he says stand-up will always be his home.
Omid said: "When I was working on Moonfleet last summer Ray Winstone told me, 'I don't feel I come alive on set until I've done a fight scene and thrown my first right hook'.
"Similarly, I don't really feel I've come to life unless I've triggered laughter from a crowd. It's probably an illness, a comedian's illness.
"But I don't panic like I used to. If a joke misses or backfires I know there's a hundred more on their way. But it's strange, I'm getting more serious off stage and savour even more the times when I'm on it. There's always something in my mind telling me 'enjoy it while you can, this isn't going to last much longer.'"
With almost two decades on the comedy circuit, following a first successful show at the Edinburgh Festival, Omid says he still loves being on stage.
"I am genuinely upset when a show is over," he said.
"I would love to go on all night. My problem is I just don't have the material.
"So I usually just take the feeling of loss and disappointment off with me when I say goodnight and drive home alone in the dark thinking of the good times and how I can say more next time and say it better."
Having started his career with a political slant to his act, Omid says he no longer feels the need to discuss current affairs – despite the name of his new show.
He said: "I don't feel the same pressure to talk about things in the news any more.
"On Twitter, comics feel they constantly have to comment on things that are trending and put their oar in. But nowadays if everyone is talking about fracking I'll just talk about [1970s singin duo] Peters and Lee."
But that is not to say he has lost his edge as a comic.
"But most comedians I know do have a filter missing," he admitted.
"They usually 'go for the gag', even if it's at the expense of total social humiliation, but they still do it because they know it'll be great story they can tell later – or even use on stage. It's almost as if comics need to be loved and talked about more than being respected.
"Stories circulate amongst comedians about who did what and when and stories are told with such relish they almost become myth. I talk about this in the show."
