MEN in their forties try to do things to prove themselves, reckons British-born Iranian stand-up comedian and actor Omid Djalili, aged 49.

“For me it was a choice of going on tour, learning to ride a unicycle or understanding Judaism,” he says. And so he chose to go on tour last September and then decided to extend it to March 28 this year.

In Iranalamadingdong, Djalili discusses such themes as overcoming your fears, relationships, the perils of celebrity and ageing. “Growing older. We all struggle with it,” he says. “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.”

Djalili has “maybe come to understand the secret to relationships now”. “I know when a woman gets married, she has to learn to forgive her man from day one,” he says.

“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.”

• Omid Djalili, Iranalamadingdong, Grand Opera House, York, Monday, 8pm. Tickets are still available on 0844 871 3024 or at atgtickets.com/york