Post by Steve on Dec 23, 2022 0:56:04 GMT
In my bid to see versions of "A Christmas Carol," other than the brilliant one revived for the umpteenth time at the Old Vic, I settled on this one (from a list submitted by board member, Jan, lol), which is a vehicle for Nick Mohammed's comedy character, Mr. Swallow. Saw the late night show, tonight.
Although the character of Mr. Swallow is a fantastic comic creation, and although the lineup of sidekicks that Mohammed has created for Mr. Swallow, are brilliant comic characters, unfortunately, the writing is too sloppy to maximise the potential humour of these characters, as well as failing to fully pisstake Dickens's story.
Ultimately, only the comic songs fully land, and the rest of the show staggers along on smiles.
Some spoilers follow. . .
I'm mostly familiar with Mr Swallow from last Christmas's "8 out of 10 Cats Christmas Special," in which he explained his absurd, frenetic and hilarious method for memorising lists, and in which he also performed an immensely funny Gary Wilmot style pantomime list-song about carrier bags lol.
This show fails to maximise the comic effect of Swallow's exuberant shrieks and absurd outbursts, his Scrooge (a Santa-like character to avoid Dickens's copyright - it's a joke lol) never finding any topic to riff on long and hard enough.
That said, Mohammed writes great characters, and all his sidekicks have the potential to be comic weapons: David Elms is a deliciously dour and embarrassed version of Mischief Theatre's ever-failing impresario, Chris Bean; Kieran Hodgson is a musical theatre version of the bottom-of-the-totem-pole Nigel-Havers-style-Palladium-Pantomime part beggar and, best of all, Sarah Hadland is a knock-off Jane McDonald, a cruise ship singer who has mastered every Andrew Lloyd Webber song, and is the understudy to the understudy of every Lloyd Webber musical lol. Unfortunately, none of them gets to fully realise the comic potential of their parts.
That said, they all elicit laughs when they sing, with Hodgson's Havers-desperate outburst of "Stille Nacht" especially funny, and Hadland's showstopper of a number about a giant Christmas turkey off the wall hilarious. And when all the sidekicks join Mr Swallow for the comic songs, the show is pure pleasure.
But when it comes to narrative pisstaking, the show could really use a polish from pisstaking maestro, Liz Kingsman, and when it comes to comic setpieces, it could really use a polish from Mischief Theatre's master bumblers.
Too often, this show coasts on its excellent characters without putting them to sufficient and sustained use.
3 stars from me for the comic songs, and for the opportunity to see Nick Mohammed's superb comic creation, Mr. Swallow, live on stage, even if his part is underwritten.
PS: Also, major kudos to the Soho Theatre ushers for helping standing punters, like me, into excellent but empty seats, Young Vic style, before the show began.
Although the character of Mr. Swallow is a fantastic comic creation, and although the lineup of sidekicks that Mohammed has created for Mr. Swallow, are brilliant comic characters, unfortunately, the writing is too sloppy to maximise the potential humour of these characters, as well as failing to fully pisstake Dickens's story.
Ultimately, only the comic songs fully land, and the rest of the show staggers along on smiles.
Some spoilers follow. . .
I'm mostly familiar with Mr Swallow from last Christmas's "8 out of 10 Cats Christmas Special," in which he explained his absurd, frenetic and hilarious method for memorising lists, and in which he also performed an immensely funny Gary Wilmot style pantomime list-song about carrier bags lol.
This show fails to maximise the comic effect of Swallow's exuberant shrieks and absurd outbursts, his Scrooge (a Santa-like character to avoid Dickens's copyright - it's a joke lol) never finding any topic to riff on long and hard enough.
That said, Mohammed writes great characters, and all his sidekicks have the potential to be comic weapons: David Elms is a deliciously dour and embarrassed version of Mischief Theatre's ever-failing impresario, Chris Bean; Kieran Hodgson is a musical theatre version of the bottom-of-the-totem-pole Nigel-Havers-style-Palladium-Pantomime part beggar and, best of all, Sarah Hadland is a knock-off Jane McDonald, a cruise ship singer who has mastered every Andrew Lloyd Webber song, and is the understudy to the understudy of every Lloyd Webber musical lol. Unfortunately, none of them gets to fully realise the comic potential of their parts.
That said, they all elicit laughs when they sing, with Hodgson's Havers-desperate outburst of "Stille Nacht" especially funny, and Hadland's showstopper of a number about a giant Christmas turkey off the wall hilarious. And when all the sidekicks join Mr Swallow for the comic songs, the show is pure pleasure.
But when it comes to narrative pisstaking, the show could really use a polish from pisstaking maestro, Liz Kingsman, and when it comes to comic setpieces, it could really use a polish from Mischief Theatre's master bumblers.
Too often, this show coasts on its excellent characters without putting them to sufficient and sustained use.
3 stars from me for the comic songs, and for the opportunity to see Nick Mohammed's superb comic creation, Mr. Swallow, live on stage, even if his part is underwritten.
PS: Also, major kudos to the Soho Theatre ushers for helping standing punters, like me, into excellent but empty seats, Young Vic style, before the show began.
