After starting his tour in Canada in May 2024, Persian Comedy Powerhouse, Omid Djalili, has added extra dates in 2026 to his tour: Namaste.
The tour has taken him through the USA, Australia and Singapore, and now he has dates set up until the end of April 2026 to visit different venues across the UK.
Although Namaste is typically a word associated with peace and tranquillity, viewers can expect Omid to address the current state of the world with a controlled rage, which Omid described in an interview to Mark Wareham: “I’ve always tried to be nice about people but this time I can’t. The world is in such a terrible state.”
Exploring topics of climate change, terrorism, financial instability, oceanic pollution, and depletion of natural resources, Omid peacefully and joyfully controls his rage and unleashes a torrent of comedic vitriol upon the current state of this dangerously messed up planet.
Being from the Middle East, Omid sees himself being in a position of a “cultural stopgap”, where he can use his comedic stage to translate what’s going on in the world, in a way that his audience will understand. Coming from this background where he has the facts of what is going on in the world – Omid is making news accessible to everyone in the audience by putting his own funny spin on it.
“People don’t get what’s going on. They don’t get what’s going on with Joe Biden attacking Syria and Iraq. It’s me trying to use comedy to make it more palatable for a British audience to understand what’s going on. So I’ve put my hat in the ring.”
This will be a funny show, full of laughs about the horrific state of the world right now, and Omid is not holding back. There will be his usual flair of singing and dancing throughout, but overall, this is a systematic look at both the state of the world and himself.
The unfiltered deliverance of the show has sprung remarks of whether he has concerns about cancel culture, but Omid’s response is simple.
“The first third of the show is about me. And the journey I’m going to take you on, I could get cancelled for. So I talk about the times I have been cancelled, and the whole Israel-Palestine thing is in the context of me having been through this before because after 9/11 I was cancelled. Before the days of cancel culture, I was cancelled.
“Nothing can get worse and you’ve got nothing to lose. And that’s when people are at their funniest. (…) In my case, I’m just too old to care.”
Omid feels that his presence on the comedic stage is an opportunity to address the terrible state of the world – which he sees as being on the verge of the Third World War: “I have no say, but I can certainly put out some thoughts and ideas that will have a little influence.”
Omid is recognised as a firm favourite at the Edinburgh Festival and has won the Time Out Award for Best Stand Up, but he is a man of many talents. His credits span further than just comedy, having worked from Hollywood to television and the West End with critically acclaimed performances as Fagin in Oliver! and Reb Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.
Omid has admitted that he is focussed on always trying to make the show better and funnier, and loves talking to people afterwards to see the different demographics, backgrounds and individuals who join him on his exploration of the current state of the world.
Tickets are on sale to attend one of his shows in the UK now. For all tour dates and tickets to a show near you, click here.
