It’s a strange feeling to be truly gutted that a clown has had to cancel their Fringe run due to other commitments. Whilst also being genuinely dead chuffed that those ‘other commitments’ have led to back-to-back Emmy Nominations for one of our favourite live performers.  

Nick Mohammed is now a first name on the team sheet for any fringe planner – but we’re not here to talk about Dr Frankenstein, we’re here to talk about his monster… Mr Swallow! 

It’s hard to describe a show like this because everything has gone wrong before the curtain is even up, but that is the joy of following Mr Swallow down the rabbit hole. In this latest literary bastardisation, our star has failed to secure the actual rights to “A Christmas Carol” so has decided to switch Scrooge with Santa, who is now portrayed as a lazy, man-child with has no real interest in reading letters or delivering presents. Clearly, an intervention from the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future are long overdue. 

The plot is largely irrelevant but the opening gambit of Mr Swallow questioning the statement that he will be visited by 3 spirits, coming from a spirit, meaning that surely this is either one of the three or that it should say that he’ll be visited by 4 spirits, should give you some idea of how this all plays out. 

This is possibly the most enjoyable Christmas show that I have seen in years, the cast are all great fun (shout out to Sarah Hadland, David Elms & Kieran Hodgson), the songs are all original and toe-tappingly catchy (left in the very capable fingers of pianist Honor Halford-MacLeod) and Mr Swallows once again steals the show as he hides brilliance behind incompetence for our enjoyment. 

It may not quite hit the heights of his production of Dracula, but anyone who managed to catch it will surely not have been disappointed.  

Clown Stars: * * * * * 

@Soho Theatre, London 

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