Review by Steve Bennett

A brilliantly barnstorming act, Djalili cheerfully subverts stereotypes in a dazzling, high-octane performance.

This Anglo-Iranian comic initially plays up to the image of the scary, manic, Westerner-hating Middle Easterner but with more phlegm - and more gags.

But then he'll flip things around, toying with audience expectations, parodying English middle classes as cleverly as the Middle Eastern stereotype. And there are plenty of self-referential asides about the easy laugh of a zany Middle Eastern accent to defuse any cynicism.

Sometimes the gags don't match this tremendous natural energy, but his knowing shtick of 'a laugh, a song, a fundamentalist diatribe against Western imperialism' is generally a triumph - and you get to see a fat man disco dance or belly dance, depending on his mood.

Review date: 1 Nov 2004
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett