PREVIEW: Omid Djalili, Schmuck for a Night

Omid Djalili: Schmuck for a Night 

Rotherham Civic Theatre

Sunday, November 19, 8pm

Starting out as a stand-up comic, the British-born Iranian first found fame at the Edinburgh Fringe with “Short, Fat Kebab Shop Owner’s Son”.

Since then he has made his name as a screen actor, voice actor and producer.

But he recently reprised his first role with a 110-date stand-up tour of Schmuck for a Night.

Unexhausted by this comedy marathon — or a stint starring in Fiddler on the Roof this summer — he has extended Schmuck to the end of the year.

The comic visits Rotherham Civic Theatre for one night only on Sunday, November 19.

Omid said: “It’s a comedy roller-coaster, but you have to be a certain height to take the ride. If you’re shorter than my hips you won’t be let in.”

He added: “I had to come back — there are heckles dating back to October 2016 that I still need to respond to.

“All my material is frozen immediately after it’s written so it’s always fresh. But some of it had thawed and was starting to smell.”

Omid promises to bring some song and dance — honed during his time as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof — to the Civic stage.

“Audiences have been known to riot if I don’t sing and dance,” he said. “Well, maybe just in Charlottesville.”

He added: “The differences are huge. In musicals, you need laser-like precision to get words and songs right or the show collapses.

“In stand-up, all I have to hope for is the audience don’t recommend me for immediate deportation.”

See www.rotherhamtheatres.co.uk for more information on upcoming shows and to book tickets, priced at £25 per person.

Omid Djalili: Schmuck for a Night is on tour until January 27, 2018. See www.omiddjalili.com for listing information.