COMEDY REVIEW 2025
Mr Swallow in Show pony
richmond theatre
Reviewed at Richmond Theatre Friday 16, May, 2025
May, 6, 2025
★★★★★
I have never seen Ted Lasso, and I don't feel shame admitting this; it is one of many shows I have not watched, like Breaking Bad, The Last of Us, and The Handmaid's Tale. But I have seen Nick Mohammed twice in two very different incarnations. The last time was his Christmas Carol-ish show on the West End; minus a heartbreaking calamitous press night, the show garnered rave reviews. With Show Pony, Mohammed's follow-up to The Very Best and Worst of Mr Swallow, he lowers his guard slightly and presents a much more personal Mr Swallow.
As Mohammed announces the start of the show, something overcomes you. A smile. A big, cheek-to-cheek smile. He is a comedian who seems to be able to draw material from some of the most mundane of things, and quite frankly, after his investigation of Lego and questions about Dido's disappearance from the charts, I was left with many questions. Whether you have followed Mohammed’s career on TV/film or not, he provides a refresher for his audiences, making it clear he has been in the game for a long time. And he has. Ted Lasso might be the biggest series he has done, gaining him two Emmy nominations for playing Nathan Shelley. He has also created and starred in Intelligence, co-starring David Schwimmer, which was nominated for an RTS Television Award.
The premise of Show Pony is a double-header of sorts. The first part is a touching reflection of his time at Abbey Grange High School in Leeds and his English teacher, who tended to swallow when she spoke, hence Mr Swallow. The other aspect of the show is his meeting with a TV commissioner who liked his idea for a comedy set on a cruise ship but wanted it to be more ethnic.
One of the most remarkable things about watching Mohammed as Mr Swallow is that you are never sure where the line between fact and fiction is drawn. His energy is infectious, and he keeps you gripped with what seem like wild ramblings, sometimes off-topic, but they are all perfectly performed. Mr Swallow is that person at work who knows all the gossip and can't wait to grab you on your first day back to tell you everything you have missed.
The set is simple; under one of the chairs is a pair of roller skates, a throwback to Mohammed’s previous show, and this world of Mr Swallow, his origins, is set. The nostalgic vibe takes you back to your classrooms of the 1990s; you can almost hear the sound of chalk screeching across the blackboard and the slamming of wooden desk lids as the bell commencing the lesson rings through the hallowed halls of your 1930s comprehensive.
Show Pony is a difficult show to pigeonhole; it is both autobiographical and a creative farce that leaves you breathless. Mohammed’s ability to hook his audience on a joke is peerless, and he is aided by his warmth. There is something uplifting about seeing him wax lyrical about his old English teacher that is endearing. Our schooling is filled with memories of two sets of teachers: not the good and the bad but the exceptional and the outrageous.
Listening to him talk about his English teacher and her quirks, particularly the way she read wartime poetry or her parting words ahead of an exam, made me think of some of my own English teachers, Mr S and my favourite, Mrs Murphy, the school librarian who encouraged me, at 12, to write my autobiography (seriously). And then there was Mr Fair (real name), our history teacher, who, during one particular GCSE exam, walked up and down the aisle and under his breath told us the best (easiest) question to answer.
This is what made Mohammed’s reflections all the more salient and heartfelt. He allows you to imagine this English teacher and see how much teaching was in her life. The impact she had, whether or not Mohammed grasped it at the time, was huge. Big enough for him to reimagine her as Mr Swallow. She is a character, like all teachers back then seemed to be, and he does it with care and honesty. Through your connection with similar teachers, you see how real she was and how precise Mr Swallow is.
The other side of Show Pony is Mohammed trying to navigate modern society's obsession with identity; spoiler: Nick Mohammed isn’t South Asian. On this subject, Mohammed allows himself to get more serious, and though he never loses his unique brand of humour, the material is insightful and meaningful. Whenever we watch TV, films, comedy, or even art and literature, the powers that be seem hellbent on tokenising a creative's otherness. This is an argument Mohammed wins once he starts to engage with the television commissioner. I took two things from this meeting; firstly, the commissioner did not see Nick Mohammed for who he is, in that he did not see Mohammed as an individual but rather an ‘other’ and that he could only play an ethnic character and nothing more. Secondly, was realising and understanding how painful that is, not just for performers like Mohammed but for audiences and other creatives who are hoping to break into the industry.
One’s ethnicity, sexuality, and class should not be a factor in how a creative project is commissioned. Unfortunately, that is not the case, and I do not know who these commissioners are trying to appease by seeking out talent that they can culturally and spiritually exploit. As Mohammed weaves through this majestically, you grow more connected to Mohammed and the world he has created. This is not just an ode to an old teacher but is something authentic.
"Mr Swallow is that person at work who knows all the gossip and can't wait to grab you on your first day back to tell you everything you have missed."
Storytelling with a pinch of salt is the best way I would/could describe a Nick Mohammed show. You want to believe every word. From the audience interaction at the start with some pretty engaging magic tricks, something he circles back to at the end, to discovering stories about his old high school friend and her wedding, to being asked by BAFTA to sing his iconic Jurassic Park theme during the film awards ceremony. The way he crafts his stories is masterful, and he leaves you on the edge of your seat. Mohammed seems to appreciate every room he is welcomed in and never takes this for granted. And it is this appreciation that forms a type of truth in his comedy that connects with his audience.
The only question at the end of Show Pony is easy to answer: what would a Mr Swallow series be like? Amazing, inspiring, and honestly insightful. Perhaps it is a testimony to Mohammed's authenticity that he is not willing to sell out and become just another generic show pony.