A one-man character sketch show, The Forer Factor is Nick Mohammed’s follow-up to his award winning 2005 debut. The show starts by introducing us to Bertram Forer, a psychologist from the 1940s who is now apparently dead, but who appears to us through a pre-recorded soundtrack to which the re-animated body (badly) mimes. Following so far? His focus is on the analysis of character profiles, based upon how people answer certain questions.
Then, it follows a series of mainly unlinked sketches of a few more elaborate characters. As is the nature of sketches, some work better than others. The 14 year old girl searching for the toilet is both well written and performed with gusto, and there is extremely clever use of sound effects during one scene in which Mohammed attempts to conduct an orchestra whilst trying to stop it being overrun by sheep. Others, like the racist schoolteacher, just seem to drag.
Mohammed is obviously an intelligent man, and has a talent for changing his voice and mannerisms to capture different characters. However his ideas don’t always translate to stage, and are perhaps too clever to be truly funny. Despite this, Mohammed is a charismatic performer, and even though not all the characters work, his enthusiasm and energy carries you through the show.
2/5
Kelly Mauchlen
