Omid Djalili, Iranalamadingdong, Grand Opera House, York, February 9

AFTER a four-week West End residency and a similarly sold-out season at the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe, Omid Djalili, the thinking person's Iranian comedian, is on the road with his typically subversive show Iranalamadingdong.

Omid will be addressing the themes of overcoming your fears, relationships, the perils of celebrity status and growing older. "A lot of men in their forties try to do things to prove themselves," he says. "For me it was a choice of going on tour, learning to ride a unicycle or understanding Judaism."

What's On pops the questions ahead of his February 9 gig at the Grand Opera House, York.

Is stand-up your first love?

"I’ve done lots of different things and enjoyed them but stand-up, when it goes well – it often doesn’t – is definitely a love. There’s something deeply satisfying about a good gig. I’m not often happy with myself as an actor. I get upset when I see myself acting on screen, mostly because of the way I look. But as a stand-up it’s always a bonus if you look heavy or awkward or damaged. In my case, it helps in fact."

So you feel very much at home in the stand-up arena?

"When I was working on Moonfleet last summer, Ray Winstone told me, ‘I don’t feel I come alive on set until I’ve done a fight scene and thrown my first right hook’. Similarly, I don’t really feel I’ve come to life unless I’ve triggered laughter from a crowd. It’s probably an illness… a comedian’s illness. But I don’t panic like I used to. If a joke misses or backfires, I know there’s a hundred more on their way. But it’s strange, I’m getting more serious off stage and savour even more the times when I’m on it. There’s always something in my mind telling me ‘enjoy it while you can, this isn’t going to last much longer'."

Do you feel fired up on stage?

"Not really fired up, but sometimes I am genuinely upset when a show is over. I would love to go on all night. In a way, I understand Ken Dodd, who famously starts at 8pm and sometimes finishes at 2am. My problem is I just don’t have the material. So I usually just take the feeling of loss and disappointment off with me when I say goodnight and drive home alone in the dark, thinking of the good times and how I can say more next time and say it better."

Is your rapport with the audience important?

"Most comedians are sensitive to audience reaction. Generally speaking, comics like people. Stand-up is basically one person talking to many people. It’s a bizarre dynamic; public speaking has been with us for thousands of years. I remember even feeling a panic when I was younger that I should get up and speak because I’d have to one day, so best start young.

"If you’re not too nervous about speaking and saying what’s on your mind in a one-on-one, then that openness is what you need on stage. It’s important not to be too hung up about what people think of you. Finding a comedy voice can take years though."

What are the themes of your new show?

"Growing older. We all struggle with it. As Dave Allen once said, ‘I enjoy getting older. I have to because there’s no choice’. When you hit your forties, you understand life better, but at the same time your body is more prone to fail. So you have to find a way of joining your received wisdom with physical prowess. A lot of men who hit 40 try to do things that make them feel more alive because they want to prove themselves. That’s why I did Splash! I wanted to do something out of the box, stretch my courage and prove I was still a young man at heart, even though my bits were dropping off."

What else will you be discussing?

"Relationships. I think I’ve maybe come to understand the secret to them now. I know when a woman gets married, she has to learn to forgive her man from day one. Because men are idiots. Before they become conscious human beings, that is. They can take years doing the wrong thing before they learn to adjust their behaviour. So women need patience and forgiveness– and a voice to articulate what the man is doing wrong in a way a man can hear. Otherwise it’s over."

Has your act become less overly political?

"I don’t feel the same pressure to talk about things in the news any more. On Twitter, comics feel they constantly have to comment on things that are trending and put their oar in. But nowadays if everyone is talking about fracking, I’ll just talk about Peters And Lee [the 1970s' singing duo]."

Is there such a thing as an archetypal comedian’s mentality?

"Erm, not really. But most comedians I know do have a filter missing. They usually ‘go for the gag’, even if it’s at the expense of total social humiliation, but they still do it because they know it’ll be great story they can tell later or even use on stage. It’s almost as if comics need to be loved and talked about more than being respected. Stories circulate amongst comedians about who did what and when and stories are told with such relish, they almost become myth."

Are you happy with where your career now stands?

"Well, I think in life you have to count your blessings, otherwise you’ll never be happy. But I haven’t worked out the reason why I’m overweight yet, and I really shouldn’t be. It’s an issue that takes precedence, so forgive me for not really answering your question."

Omid Djalili, Iranalamadingdong, Grand Opera House, York, February 9, 8pm. Tickets: £24 on 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york