MARK THOMAS Gaffa Tapes

Mark’s now famous mix of standup, theatre, journalism and the odd bout of performance art has made him one of our oldest surviving alternative comics.

Often referred to as the ‘godfather of political comedy’ (amidst many other things), Mark has been performing comedy for nearly 40 years. With a recentish step towards theatre in his last few shows, Mark is back to his finest stand-up form and anti-Tory sentiment in Gaffa Tapes as he sets out on the road this autumn.

If you don’t know what Mark does, ask your parents. In his time, he has won 8 awards for performing, 3 for human rights work… and 1 he invented for himself. He has made 6 series of the Mark Thomas Comedy Product and 3 Dispatches for Channel 4, made 5 series of the Manifesto for Radio 4, written 5 books and 4 playscripts, curated and authored 2 art exhibitions with artist Tracey Moberly and was commissioned to write a show for the Royal Opera House. He has forced a politician to resign, changed laws on tax and protest, become the Guinness Book of Records world-record holder for number of protests in 24 hours, taken the police to court three times and won (the fourth is in the pipeline), walked the length of the Israeli Wall in the West Bank (that’s 724km), and generally mucked about trying to have fun and upset (shall we say) the right people.

https://markthomasinfo.co.uk/ / TWITTER: @MarkThomasInfo

PRESS ON ‘ENGLAND & SON’ (2023)

“A brilliant piece of political theatre at its most entertaining, engaging and effective” THE MORNING STAR

“A searing one-hander that burns on long after the audience has vacated their seats” FEST MAG

“A contemporary parable… passion, physicality, and deep compassion – and the performance sings from it” ENTERTAINMENT NOW

“Extraordinarily powerful… a stunning performance” SCOTS GAY

"A powerful cinematic journey through ecstatic highs and bone-crushing lows as if on a theatrical flying carpet” EDINBURGH REVIEWS

“Veering from funny to ferocious… very humorous and deeply moving. Don’t miss this!” NORTH WEST END UK

“Thomas is electrifying… an exceptional work…. England & Son is exactly such a rarity! A ‘must see’” THE RECS

“Funny and ferocious” THE GUARDIAN

“A ferocious script, sharply directed and magnificently delivered” THE TIMES

“Expertly played blistering solo” THE TELEGRAPH

“Tremendous energy and real pathos… a tremendous performance from Mark Thomas” THE STAGE

"Exquisitely crafted... the austere moral intensity of script and performance are never compromised" THE LIST

“Fierce and sharp… profound and moving. A triumph for all concerned” WHAT’S ON STAGE

“Heartbreakingly powerful, sharp and tragic… he remains one of the great performer-storytellers of our time” THE SCOTSMAN

“A devastating one-man show” ED FEST MAG

"A harrowing story that has been sensitively written and wonderfully performed" BROADWAY WORLD

“A hurricane of charismatic energy, leaving the audience too gripped to leave and too scared to interrupt” BRITISH THEATRE GUIDE

“It certainly hits home with today’s audience… he has the audience in the palm of the hand” BOUQUETS & BRICKBATS

Photo Credit: Design By Greg