No Agenda necessary?

Omid Djalili: No Agenda
Pleasance Grand

Ediburgh comedy: Omid Djalili has not been at the Fringe since his 2002 show about the war on Iraq, Behind Enemy Lines. Yet he remains a hefty hero of British stand-up.

It's a fact made apparent by the sold-out, packed-out nature of his show where his gentle lampooning of Middle England and self-parodying of his culture mark him out as a buffoon with brains. True to form, he kicks things off with a clever Arab knob gag.

As a title, No Agenda is a fib. This show is all about him, his background, his culture and his career. As the only British-Iranian comic on the circuit, he's a topical goldmine and wastes no time in cracking some explosive suicide bomber jokes.

As a concept, however, No Agenda seems spot-on. Djalili's beliefs are kept hidden beneath the humour, so it's never certain what his motives are.

There's no doubting his comic talent, which is as vast as the venue he's consistently filling. But this year - surprisingly, guttingly - his act seems a little lazy.

He laps up the laughter a bit too much; occasionally pacing is too slow. His material is still on fire but his star quality now seems just as important.

Let's hope the bright lights of Hollywood are a fleeting distraction. Selling out's fine, Omid, but please don't "sell out" - we'd miss you.