Stand-up show by Mark Thomas marking 40 years at the mic, part of the Traverse's £1 Ticket Project and recommended for ages 18 and over.
Mark Thomas is back at the Traverse Theatre on Friday 11 December, with 40 in Stand Up Years marking four decades at the mic. He's billed as one of Scotland's oldest surviving alternative comics, and the title does the heavy lifting there — forty years of stand-up is a long stretch for anyone, let alone someone who's spent a good chunk of that time taking on the establishment.
If you're not familiar with the name, the CV is a bit of a trip. He's won eight awards for performing and four for human rights work, plus one he invented for himself. On screen, there were six series of The Mark Thomas Comedy Product on Channel 4, and more recently three Dispatches for the same channel. He's written six books, five play scripts, and five series of The Manifesto on Radio 4. It's a lot of output for one person, and it all sits on the same political, agitprop ground.
Beyond the credits, he's known for the kind of stunts that make most people nervous. He once held a Guinness World Record for staging 20 protests in 24 hours, sued the police and won three times, and walked 724km along the length of the Israel Wall in the West Bank. He opened a comedy club in Palestine with Dr Sam Beale and campaigned for trade union recognition for cinema workers. Critics have called him a 'firebrand of a clown' whose energy is infectious, which sums up the vibe: half political agitator, half old-school comic.
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It's a stand-up show, so the focus is on the stage, and the Traverse is a good fit for it. The show is part of the Traverse's £1 Ticket Project, and it's recommended for ages 18 and over. It runs on Friday 11 December at 7:30pm, with tickets ranging from £5.50 to £22.50.
