Nick Mohammed is Mr Swallow: 2012
Radio 4 star returns with camp creation
This article is from 2012.
Mr Swallow is probably character comedian Nick Mohammed’s most famous creation. This camp, easily distracted but infinitely cheerful northerner has enjoyed past Fringe success and a Radio 4 series, and Mohammed is currently working on a BBC TV show based around him.
The theme for Mr Swallow’s 2012 talk is ‘numbers’, incorporating a makeshift round from Countdown and a hilarious diatribe – complete with graphs -- about the numerical inaccuracies of ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’. The momentum doesn’t quite kick into gear immediately, but Mohammed’s easy-going charm means the audience is behind him even when he loses his way. Although he drifts off-topic often, the theme stays intact; one highlight is a character based on his sweet but forgetful accountant, giving the relentlessly high-pitched Mr Swallow a short – and much needed – break.
And in the end, Mohammed brings all the number strands of his show together masterfully, creating a memorable finish that easily makes up for the lags in pace of the preceding hour.
Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 26 Aug, 6pm, £11--£12 (£10--£11).
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