Producers of Oliver! announced this week that Iranian comedian and actor Omid Djalili will be taking over the role of Fagin from Rowan Atkinson in July. In keeping with the current trend of unusual celebrity casting, Oliver! will see Djalili making his West End debut, just as Joseph and La Cage Aux Folles have recently seen Gareth Gates and Graham Norton take to musical theatre for the first time.
Omid is, of course, best known for his energetic stand-up comedy routines, with his trademark hyperactivity, singing, bellydancing and uncanny knack of taking on accents have also led to numerous appearances on TV shows such as Room 101, Live at Jongleurs, Have I Got News For You and Live at the Apollo.
As well as huge success and a worldwide following for his comedy work, trained actor Djalili has also appeared in a number of films, most notably Casanova, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Spy Game, Notting Hill and Gladiator. He is well known in the US for having played Persian janitor Nasim in Whoopi Goldberg’s sitcom Whoopi.
Although his name might not be as big as Atkinson’s (not to mention harder to pronounce), Djalili’s CV shows he is more than qualified to take on such an iconic theatrical role. The critically applauded Rowan Atkinson will be playing Fagin until Saturday 18 July 2009, and Omid takes over on Monday 20 July. New tickets for Oliver! have just been released.
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