Mr Swallow, Vir Das, Jazz Emu - Mark Muldoon's Comedy Diary
Published: Thursday 29th December 2022
According to Time Out, there's 12 different productions of A Christmas Carol being staged in London this winter. That somewhat suggests an enduring appetite for the classic, even if you do wonder how they've all fared financially.
For anybody thinking of entering such a crowded marketplace, it'd maybe be wise to offer up a fresh take. It's fair to say that's the strategy employed by self-proclaimed 'Yorkshire pudding' Nick Mohammed (aka Mr Swallow), who was a big success story in these comedy circles before going on to appear in a whole bunch of TV shows, most notably Ted Lasso.
For this production, the idea is that they've been unable to secure the rights to the Dickens original, so the loose structure of the story - three ghosts visit a massive grump at Christmas etc - is just about the only thing that remains intact. Instead of Scrooge, then, it's Santa that is feeling miserly and lazy in the run-up to December 25th. Scenes are supposed to be short and snappy but get derailed. Issues and plot holes in the Dickens original are mocked (a highlight).
It wouldn't be overstating things to call the show spectacular - everything gets thrown at it: singing, dance routines, sketch comedy, magic, stage trickery, meta-humour and audience interaction all mingle happily together in one family-friendly entertainment package (Mohammed does drop the S-bomb twice, which is the closest this show gets to exceeding its PG rating). It's a slick, tightly-written production, which often succeeds in looking like loose, knockabout fun.
You'd guess they've got one eye on a West End transfer next year. It's a show that feels like it's been put together with larger theatres in mind. Even if London is again oversaturated with different versions of this story, you'd still bet on it succeeding.
A comedy gig can probably be described as going pretty well if the comedian sees it necessary to keep asking the audience to hold back on their applause. For Mumbai comedian Vir Das, London is performance number 183 out of 183 for the extensive international tour of his show Wanted - and he's immediately greeted here with a superstar's welcome.
Das has spoken about wanting to tell authentic Indian stories that can be enjoyed by anyone, anywhere in the world. He appears to favour a riskier brand of comedy than the conservative side of India is used to hearing, and much of this show concerns the fallout from one such flare-up.
Elsewhere, jokes about the British monarchy, western governments and Indian parents are engineered well enough to succeed in front of any audience, but the show is pitched particularly well at the South Asian diaspora, who enjoy frequent laughs of recognition here. The biggest reactions, though, are for the anti-English material, which would generally suit any London audience just fine.
More often, Das is the punchline of his own jokes. As well as the aforementioned controversies, he discusses teenage experimentations with his sexuality and the common sensation of feeling caught between Indian and Western cultures - welcome sections that soften and flesh out his persona.
A version of the show (only slightly tweaked for a global audience) has helpfully just been released on Netflix, should you fancy it.
Also touching on the hot topic of 'cancel culture' - albeit with a sillier approach - the conceit of Jazz Emu's show is that he's used to playing in much larger venues than this, but that he was cancelled in Helsinki for accidentally upsetting the "Scandinavian goblin community".
The show is varied and technologically impressive. There's great music - his songs on Miami and the English language are surely destined to expand his collection of viral hits. Jazz Emu (Archie Henderson) has a stilted, awkward physicality all of his own. Whilst completely daft, the show still succeeds in being narratively satisfying. Unlike, say, your average production of A Christmas Carol, the character feels very original and the show completely of its own world. It's always good, frequently fantastic.
Read previous editions of this column
Mark Muldoon is also available on Instagram and Twitter, if you're at a loose end.
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