Mount Everest, the highest of all mountains, has a Google rating of 4.2

The latest in an occasional series of theatre reviews...

Nick Mohammed Presents The Very Best & Worst of Mr. Swallow : Duke Of York's Theatre

Having watched Ted Lasso, I'm aware of who Nick is but I've also read several reviews that say he should be better known for Mr Swallow so I thought I'd give it a go without really having any idea what I'd let myself in for.  In the theatre before it started (which was surprisingly only half full in the cheap seats) the audience was very couple-y and considerably younger than me (hard to imagine, I realise) - make of that what you will.

Well, we start the evening with Tessa Coates ("when I was a teenager, I was obsessed with Fabergé eggs") doing a wam-up slot - she was amusingly scatty if surprisingly nervous and told a funny tale about buying a last-minute entry to the Brighton half marathon and ending up in the elite men's race by mistake - "it was Brighton, everyone was very accepting - and I thought 'how fast are they going to be anyway?'".  It was all perfectly serviceable as a warm-up, but as usual with these things she'd only just got going when it was time to stop.

And so, after an interval to buy required ice creams (although the theatre wasn't as warm as I feared), Mr Swallow took to the stage - on roller-skates.  Obviously.  And things don't get any less weirder as time goes on - he's like a cross between a Northern working man's club comedian, a kids TV presenter and Derren Brown.  Does that help?  No?!?  Half of the show is pretty standard comedy fare which included an amusing riff on Les Mis (which can't have meant much if you've never seen it) and a surprisingly funny routine about various internet oddities including the age rating on banking apps (4+) and the reasons the RSPB offer you when you want to unsubscribe from their mailing list ("The RSPB ask TOO MUCH of me!?! ").   The other half of the show is a somewhat unexpected combination of maths and magic, including an impressive "memorising a pack of cards" routine and a surprising riff on the Countdown numbers round (although I do have to say I'm somewhat surprised that solving a Rubiks cube still manages to get a round of applause these days).  What the show doesn't contain, which might surprise you given the presence of a piano on stage, is any great keyboard skills (two chords - that's it!).

All in all, it was an enjoyable if not absolutely top notch evening out - it both made me laugh and surprised me, but it's not going to stay with me.  He kept the show to an hour long which I think is probably sensible because I suspect too much Mr Swallow would get very tiresome, although several reviews say that he started out being considerably more annoying.  If you fancy a diverting evening out then he's on until Saturday and I'm sure you'll be able to pick up some tickets.

Oklahoma! - well this was, errr, yes...
Kate - a well put together show