Nick Mohammed: Show Pony – Live Review – Bradford Live

By Hazel Davis, May 2026

When you walk over the road in Bradford towards the “theatre district”, there’s a point where the crowds part. The musicals and arts crowd file off to the Alhambra and the people going to see Midge Ure, Ocean Colour Scene and Michael Ball head to Bradford Live, the city’s 4000-seater venue. And this was where we headed to see Nick Mohammed, aka Mr Swallow.

It must seem ridiculous to Mohammed that he can’t get a Swallow sitcom on mainstream TV (more on that later) but he can sell out venues like this. And this crowd were very much here to see him, thanks mainly to his role as Nate in Ted Lasso, and his stints on Taskmaster and Celebrity Traitors.

This Saturday night, it’s mainly couples and the vibe is reminiscent of a Peter Kay crowd, open to laughing, regardless of what was about to happen. However, clearly not all of them know what to expect. “So it’s him and another guy” whispers one man behind me, “who’s Mr Swallow though?” says another. It just shows that all you have to do is be on telly to sell tickets.

“Impressive”

Swallow comes out to introduce himself and tell a couple of anecdotes and introduce the support act, a delightful surprise in the form of Ivo Graham, who dialled down his usual routine for some nice local content about the City of Culture and the venue itself (the former Gaumont – and then Odeon – Cinema). Material about the Beatles and Chicken Run allow for a nice bit of wordplay and a refreshing spot from a comic who could have easily just rehashed some of his more obvious stuff and still gone down a treat.

Mr Swallow, if you don’t know, is Mohammed’s alter ego – an over-enthusiastic performer, magician, with a raft of showbiz stories and a tendency to get things wrong. And, after Graham has left the stage, it’s time for the main event.

Show Pony is Mr Swallow’s chance to shine with a range of (genuinely) impressive card and memory tricks and some great audience interaction. In some ways this is a jumbled show that doesn’t really know what it is, but in other ways, that is its USP.

“Panache”

Afterwards, my 14-year-old daughter says, “I loved it but I’ve not seen many comedy shows so I don’t know how it compares.” I can answer her. It doesn’t. It’s character comedy, it’s standup, it’s a magic show, it’s a commentary on contemporary pop culture and our attitudes to race.

The stories are a mix of Mohammed’s, told in the voice of Mr Swallow (“does anyone else find it bonkers that I was in [Matt Damon film] The Martian?” he says in Swallow’s high-pitched Leeds accent) and Mr Swallow’s time on the cruise ships. It’s clunky but it somehow works. He even occasionally breaks the fourth wall (he kind of has to, to explain the origins of the character) but does this with panache and we don’t love the character any less for knowing he’s not real.

This is a messy, lovely, thought-provoking show, with a cracking Derren Brown-style denouement that will make you gasp and Nick Mohammed is, put simply, one of comedy’s most original minds.

More info: nickmohammedlive.com

Hazel Davis( Writer )

Hazel Davis lives in West Yorkshire and has been a journalist for most of the UK national newspapers and many magazines, cutting her teeth on a classical music magazine. She’s the lead singer in a country band (Mustard County), plays trumpet in a wind band and big band and cornet in a brass band. When she’s not playing music or writing about it, she’s usually thinking about it.

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