British Iranian stand-up comic Omid Djalili has recently become something of a people’s ambassador for inter-racial issues, bringing humour to the forefront of shaky political ground. His latest national tour, Omid Live 2008, disproves this self-appointed title in no way, as he tackles uncomfortably contemporary racial conflicts with a deft hand, intelligent humour and a small amount of belly-dancing. The racial mockery Djalili daringly doles out to every imaginable victim, varying from armless taxi-driving Arabs to Scouser rat-eating football fans, is received by his audience with respect and gratitude as he lightens an increasingly dark and dangerous subject.

Djalili perilously straddles the line between playfulness and abuse in his treatment of British society’s struggle for political correctness; his uncanny impressions of regional accents are of particular brilliance, and make up somewhat for the occasional anticipated and tired pun. Djalili’s energy on stage is striking, and, after over an hour of well-delivered energetic performance, the audience are appreciative of a lengthy encore. Djalili may teasingly claim to have postponed an impending British war on Iran, but the reality of his racially liberating presence in British society may not render his claim too far from the truth. Highlighting the ignorance of society, Djalili uses comedy as a pseudo-political vehicle to guide audiences towards tolerance and appreciation for the multi-cultural society into which Britain has evolved. Enlightening, refreshing and ultimately uplifting; Omid Djalili’s comedy may educate the world one joke at a time.

Omid Djalili Live 2008 will be visiting the City Varieties in Leeds, 13-15th April.

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