Comedy review: Omid Djalili - King’s Theatre, Glasgow

THE notion that Omid Djalili can be all things to all people remains firmly in place with his current Tour of Duty show.

Back after a three-year stage sabbatical during which he starred in The Infidel, performed another “ethnic go-to guy” role in Sex and the City 2 and larked around with a high-profile ad campaign, stand-up comedy’s Everyman here delivered an endlessly entertaining and occasionally invigorating set.

As our foremost UK-Iranian comic, Djalili has always been in a privileged position of being able to see different sides to many stories, and when he launched into another funny African, American or Arab accent, the caricature always stopped short of mockery, preferring instead to revel in the joys of diversity. Which is not to say that he doesn’t stray into potentially more dodgy territory (there may have been one theatrically camp voice too many, this time around) but he acknowledged the danger with a screen flashing up the levels of potential racism within one particular sequence.

Despite having conceived this tour as an opportunity to be viewed as a more thoughtful comedian, the fearsome struggle between Showbiz Omid and Serious Omid was never wholly resolved. That may well be for the best. For every fresh perspective he brought to a topic such as the Arab Spring, England’s summer riots or the death of Bin Laden, there was a gloriously corny punchline lurking around the corner. And for his final trick, a baying King’s Theatre egged him on for those crowd-pleasing dance routines.

RATING: ***