MR. SWALLOW: HOUDINI to be Released on Soho Theatre On Demand

Nick Mohammed, The Pleasance, Soho Theatre and United Agents have announced the digital release of Mr. Swallow: Houdini - freeing from the shackles of 2017 the Mr. Swallow-anointed, first-ever entirely true auto-biopic of legendary magician Harry Houdini. Mr. Swallow: Houdini will premiere on Soho Theatre On Demand via a live screening at 7pm on Wednesday 29th April and will be available to stream until 20th May, for a minimum donation of £4.

Forget William Kalush and Larry Sloman's painstakingly researched 608-page book The Secret Life of Houdini (IT. IS. BOR-ING!). Mr. Swallow: Houdini is the world's first celebration of the man who brought magic and escapology to the mainstream, conjured to your screens via Soho Theatre On Demand having taken audiences by storm when it premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2016.

In these worrying times of global pandemics and lockdowns, who better to lift your spirits than the eccentric tour de force that is Mr. Swallow, a man willing to pay the ultimate homage to Houdini himself by recreating the master's legendary underwater escape (and you thought your lockdown was bad??) Mr. Swallow is once again joined by his trusty assistants Mr. Goldsworth (David Elms) and Jonathan (Kieran Hodgson) as he charts his own imitable interpretation of Houdini's life, fusing daredevil magic (his words), hilarious comedy (also his words) and a series of musical numbers that are, frankly, to die for (...yep).

Mr. Swallow said: "After a lot of back and forth with the powers that be on how I might be able to contribute to the pandemic, I figured, 'what better way to relax than to watch me try and escape from a locked tank of water... all from the comfort and safety of your own home'."

All proceeds raised via the Soho Theatre On Demand release will go to charity, with 70% going to NHS Charities Together to support frontline workers leading the response to the Covid-19 emergency, with the remaining 30% put into a trust for comics most affected by the pandemic and the resulting financial instability.