LONDON - Omid Djalili, best known to U.S. audiences as the only Iranian on a sitcom,
returns to his British comic roots this week when he kicks off a comedy festival in Manhattan.
"Standup is my first love. You're using humor to make points," says Djalili, who plays Nasim
on NBC's Whoopi. "And this is the city to do it in." That means dealing with 9/11 - from
what he calls "a fresh perspective." But before you complain that there's nothing funny about
9/11, he quickly adds that he's not taking himself too seriously. After all, he made his name
here with a solo show called "Short, Fat Kebab Shop Owner's Son." "Any point I make is undercut
by Godzilla impersonations and belly dancing."
Djalili is the first performer in the "New York British/Irish Comedy Invasion" beginning tonight at the Village Theater (formerly the Village Gate) on Bleecker St. His 10-day stint will be followed by a string of other comedians who are well-known in Britain and Ireland, including Boothby Graffoe, Dylan Moran and a sketch troupe called the Hollow Men.
"Standup comedy in Britain is an art form," says Arnold Engelman, founder of Westbeth Entertainment, which is producing the festival. "In America, it's pretty much relegated to comedy clubs and 20-minute sets." Eddie Izzard, the transvestite comic whose show "Sexie" played New York last year, says there's no problem crossing the Atlantic as long as comedians avoid local British references.
"We could have played every state," says Izzard, who also won a Tony nomination for his lead performance in Joe Egg. "I've been saying to all the comics here, just go. I see this as a bridgehead." Moran, whose TV show "Black Books" is a hit in Britain and has run on Comedy Central, has never been to New York before; his only U.S. trip was to Los Angeles. "If I go to New York and it's like L.A., I'm going to burst into tears," he says.
Djalili is a lot more confident, thanks to Whoopi and his roles in The Mummy and Gladiator. He has three movies due this year, including Modigliani, in which he plays Pablo Picasso (Andy Garcia co-stars). "What you need is energy and clarity," he says.