Question everything, so the saying goes, and to which the only appropriate response is, “Why?” Nick Mohammed’s Mr. Swallow, a character that has been going since 2010 according to the show’s programme, can’t quite follow what’s going on. No prior knowledge of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is required to comprehend A Christmas Carol (ish) – indeed it’s probably fair to say Swallow has never read it. Could they not, he asks his producer Mr. Goldsworth (David Elms), shorten proceedings by having all three ghosts appear at once and stage a single, coordinated intervention, perhaps with a question and answer session?
Framed as a work in progress – there are scenes, Swallow admits, that he isn’t fully conversant with just yet – the show is deliberately and almost relentlessly chaotic. It is irritating. It is repetitive. By the time the interval rolled around, I left the auditorium to stretch my legs, looked out the window at the outdoor LED screens at Outernet London across the road from the theatre, and wondered whether the duration of the second half would be better spent outdoors looking at abstract moving images (free of charge, mind you) despite the cold weather. Alas, I happen to be one of those reviewers who thinks that if I’m going to savage a production, I might as well savage all of it.
Just as well, then, that in the second half, resistance proved futile, as the chaos hit the stratosphere, and with it, the level of enjoyment to be had. I’m not entirely sure what Martha Howe-Douglas’ Rochelle was attempting to achieve with a rendering of a song (apparently of her own) called ‘Satan Baby’, which seemed to be more about wanting to eat turkey, which in turn was rather more festive than the song’s title suggested.
Swallow also plays Santa, who isn’t quite Satan, but is also Scrooge, who also turns out to be the midwife for the Virgin Birth (see what I mean about the chaos hitting the stratosphere?). But Swallow Santa Scrooge’s keen eye on the accounts translates well to the penny-pinching times in which we live, and I daresay there are people for whom Christmas is effectively cancelled anyway because it is too expensive. This Santa, however, has decided enough is enough and cancels Christmas, then has a change of heart (those ghosts, y’see), U-turning as though he were a Government minister.
There is also Kieran Hodgson, ostensibly playing ‘Jonathan’ but who also doubles up as Rudolph Hess (don’t ask me) the Red-Nosed Reindeer – and Mohammed’s Swallow had fun comparing Hodgson to David Tennant (hard to tell with a red nose stuck to his (Hodgson’s) face, though I initially thought he had the likeness of journalist Robert Peston). The redemptive moment, in more ways than one, comes in a late scene that isn’t for the fainthearted, even if – spoiler alert – if you look closely enough, a reassuring safety mechanism can be spotted.
There were a couple of decent adlibs at the performance I attended – if you can handle another spoiler, a patron answering the call of nature in the first half of the first half (no less) was always going to be commented on by a cast predominantly known for their comedy work. Despite the show’s title, there is practically zero Victorian moralising going on here. Unpredictable and unwieldy, it has plenty of heart. I was won over by the end.
Review by Chris Omaweng
When Santa cancels Christmas on Christmas Eve, he’s visited by three ghosts who must convince him to see the error of his ways and rediscover the magic of Christmas. But with mere hours to go, and only one working reindeer, how will he deliver everything on time?!
Mr. Swallow – Nick Mohammed
Rochelle – Martha Howe-Douglas
Jonathan – Kieran Hodgson
Mr. Goldsworth – David Elms
Book and Lyrics – Nick Mohammed
Music – Oliver Birch
Director – Matt Peaver
Set and Costume Designer – Fly Davis
Lighting Designer – Richard Howell
Choreographer – Emily Holt
Sound Designer – Giles Thomas
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (ISH)
@sohoplace
16 November to 31 December 2024
