Ghosts star Martha Howe-Douglas joins cast

Nick Mohammed is bringing Mr Swallow’s  take on A Christmas Carol (ish) to the West End this winter.

Ghosts star Martha Howe-Douglas, below, is also joining the cast of the show, which originally ran at Soho Theatre in 2022.

Now it is to transfer to the West End’s newest theatre, @Sohoplace, from November 16 to December 31.

The Ted Lasso star and ‘Taskmaster loser’ will again be joined by his regular sidekicks Kieran Hodgson, from Two Doors Down, and David Elms.

Mohammed said: ‘I can’t quite put into words how utterly thrilled I am to be finally plonking Mr. Swallow on a West End stage - albeit in the guise of Scrooge in the guise of Santa Claus! 

‘Getting to put on an all-singing, all-dancing show like this has been a dream come true and I can’t wait for everyone who saw the development run at Soho Theatre to be positively startled by how much bigger and - mostly - madder it’s got! 

‘With so many versions of A Christmas Carol to choose from this festive season we can absolutely guarantee this is the only one where all the words, context and overall meaning has been altered to meet my very specific requirements.’

It is not the first time Mr Swallow has been on the West End stage as Mohammed presented a successful run of his ‘Very Best & Worst of…’ show at the Duke of York’s theatre last year.

A Christmas Carol (ish) is directed by Matt Peover, who worked on previous Nick Mohammed/Mr. Swallow shows  as well as Jayde Adams’s Serious Black Jumper and Nina Conti’s In Therapy.

Nica Burns, the Edinburgh Comedy Awards producer whose company Nimax owns @sohoplace called the show ‘an utterly original and inventive take on one of our most loved traditional Christmas stories – witty, inventive, funny, sometimes frivolous but always delightful’.

He added: ‘Nick Mohammed and his brilliant comedy team will give you a memorable evening of laughter to spice up the coldest of wintery days and remember, in our intimate auditorium you will be very close…"

Producer Owen Donovan said his company Berk’s Nest was ‘Scrooge-on-Christmas-morning-level excited to be bringing A Christmas Carol (ish) to the West End’.

He added: ‘ It’s a huge honour to be working with @sohoplace, our hilarious ensemble cast and an incredible creative team on this "unique" retelling, and we’re excited for fans and newcomers alike to see Mr Swallow adapt this much-loved festive classic (which he promises he has read). 

‘The work Nick, Oliver, Matt and the whole team are making is truly magic, and we can’t wait for theatre audiences, comedy lovers and families to experience it.’

Some tickets go on sale on Wednesday from www.achristmascarolish.com, with general released on Friday.

Book and lyrics: Nick Mohammed
Music: Oliver Birch
Directed by: Matt Peover
Set & costume design: Fly Davis
Lighting design: Richard Howell
Choreographer: Emily Holt
Musical supervisor: Freddie Tapner
Musical director: Honor Halford-MacLeod
Producer: Owen Donovan  for Berk’s Nest 

The band is formed of members of the London Musical Theatre Orchestra

Published: 16 Sep 2024