Any assessment of the best character acts of recent years – Colin Hoult’s Anna Mann, Zoë Coombs Marr’s Dave, Ciarán Dowd’s Don Rodolfo – must include in its top tier Mr Swallow, the excitable alter ego of comedian Nick Mohammed. For years, the character has operated in “best kept secret” territory for comedygoers, with his bumptious, boffin-ish solo shows alternating with stage spectaculars – about Houdini, Dracula and so on – co-starring put-upon sidekicks Jonathan and Mr Goldsworth. Now, two new shows featuring the character are upon us: A Christmas Carol-ish, in which the no-filter northern impresario gives us his take on Dickens, Santa and festive tradition; and The Very Best and Worst of Mr Swallow, touring from March.
Not much appears to have changed for Mr Swallow – but plenty has for Mohammed, who’s gone from highly regarded live act and under-the-radar screen performer to Emmy-nominated star of the Apple TV phenomenon Ted Lasso. It’s fun to speculate what that might mean, not just for the comic, but for his character act. The pipeline from stage to TV studio isn’t especially well greased right now for character comedy: none of the above acts have broken out on telly. (Don Rodolfo got a pilot.) Might Mohammed’s newfound stardom smooth his alter ego’s path, as with Alan Partridge, Count Arthur Strong and others before him, to the small screen? And would that be a good thing?
