Comedy from kebab-land

11 April 2012
The Weekender

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Omid Djalili has finally got his timing right. He has been addressing cultural stereotyping on the Fringe without fanfare for seven years. His 1995 debut was called Short Fat Kebab Shop Owner's Son, when in reality Djalili is a middle-class Londoner of Iranian parentage.

But since 11 September he has found his voice. His current show, Behind Enemy Lines, has serious political ballast. It is also very funny, from his entrance, complaining about his flying lessons, to the climax, an extended piece involving severed genitals and a Lloyd Webber musical. Djalili starts by wrongfooting those that only know his portly figure from bit parts in films such as The Mummy. He initially performs with an Iranian accent before adopting BBC tones and admitting that he is a management consultant having a crack at stand-up. Both characters are equally fake.

Undercutting expectations is the recurrent theme. He frequently drops in a sincere speech about tolerance, silencing the audience, before hitting back with a comic pay-off. Djalili is excellent at dissecting media coverage, suggesting that asking certain Muslim extremists to comment on Afghanistan was the equivalent of asking Klan leaders to comment on British politics. Similarly, how would some Middle Eastern countries even be able to communicate with Al Qaeda when the Afghanistani accent is the region's equivalent of Geordie?

Occasionally, the pace drags, but Djalili always picks things up, either by getting a cheap laugh with some belly dancing, or by going for the jugular with an incisive jab at both Sharon and Arafat. There is an overcooked Scooby-Doo gag, suggesting Bin Laden is just a cartoon rent-a-baddy in a mask, but this is predominantly heavyweight satire with a cutting edge. The real Djalili has been unmasked and comedy is a richer place for it.

? Until 26 August. Box office: 0131 556 6550.

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