Comedians are today's philosophers, says Fringe-bound Omid Djalili

After taking a break from touring last summer to play Tevye in Chichester Festival Theatre’s production of Fiddler On The Roof, the 52-year-old British-Iranian stand-up comedian, actor and television producer is on the road again, trying to make sense of the world around him.

"I'm very pleased to be coming to Yorkshire, especially as England's best players in the World Cup have been northern players, particularly Trippier and Maguire," he said on the heavy morning after the Croatian semi-final defeat the night before.

"I was the last schmuck in the pub, and Iranians don't even drink," says Omid Djalili

"Omid, I've just seen the first picture of a discarded 'Gareth Southgate' waistcoat in a bin," The Press told him. Omid burst into laughter and promptly took to social media to spread the word in search of more waistcoat wastage.

Chelsea, England and Iran fan Omid had warmed to Southgate's management style. "It's because his leadership is about empowerment, and I've loved the Yorkshire spirit in his squad too," he says.

Anyway, back to being a schmuck for more than a night, as Omid looks forward to playing the White Rose Rotunda spiegeltent in Parliament Street on the Great Yorkshire Fringe's opening night, July 19. "Schmuck For A Night is a concept that's been rolling on. Even last night, after the football, I Tweeted that I was the last schmuck in the pub, and Iranians don't even drink! It's been great to have two teams to support at this World Cup, with both providing thrills and spills.

"I'm using the sword of truth and the shield of irony," says Omid

"Back to the concept; the title comes from a line in that Robert De Niro/Martin Scorsese film The King Of Comedy, where De Niro says: 'But I figured it this way: better to be king for a night than schmuck for a lifetime!'.

"My concept is that, living in such extraordinary times, politically, in sport, or whatever, I'm using the sword of truth and the shield of irony as the only way to deal with it – and that's how the British make sense of it all. It's an on-going thing in my show, trying to react to what's going on in the news every day, so though there are certain set pieces that I have each night, the show develops as the news develops."

Omid notes how comedians have often used analogies to make points, "but now, the only thing it would be interesting to try to do is a routine where the crazy thing that's going on is exactly the same as the crazy analogy I'm making!

"Comedians have become the philosophers of our society," suggests Omid

"It's like there's a big invisible essence writing jokes in the sky, so I tried it as an experiment, making ever crazier analogies and the audience loved it, but the challenge for me is to make sense of it all," he says. "All the time, I'm putting Post-it notes on my wall, making notes, thinking 'what am I going to say about this?'.

"Comedians have become the philosophers of our society, and a really good comedian now is one who you can't quote the next day but makes you think."

Think, but laugh too, of course. During this interview, Omid suddenly improvised an Egyptian commentator watching Jordan Henderson fluff his shoot-out penalty versus Colombia, having discovered the obscure wonders of Egyptian match reporting at the World Cup. Comedy gold down the phone, hopefully he will repeat it in York. Oh, and listen out for the story of the man who absent-mindedly ordered a Gareth Southgate S &M waistcoat, rather than an M & S one. More material for Omid, the ever-changing schmuck.

Omid Djalili, Schmuck For A Night, Great Yorkshire Fringe, White Rose Rotunda, Parliament Street, York, July 19, 7pm. Box office: 01904 500600 or at greatyorkshirefringe.com