Mark Thomas: 40 In Stand Up Years

Mark Thomas is coming to The Quad Theatre on Friday 4 December, with the show 40 In Stand Up Years marking four decades at the mic. It's a solo stand-up set from one of the few comics still working the political line of alternative comedy.

If you're not familiar with him, Thomas is an observational comic whose material centres on anti-corporate and anti-greed investigations. He's best known for a campaigning Channel 4 series that ran for seven years, where he used Michael Moore-style televisual stunts to get his point across. In one episode, he got an Indonesian military chief to admit on camera that his government used torture.

That political streak runs deep. He says his passion for politics was inherited from his father, a builder and lay preacher at Clapham's Nazarene Church. He went to Christ's Hospital on a scholarship, then to Bretton Hall drama college in Wakefield, where he started performing his own sketches and shows — including benefit shows for the miners' strike while he was still a student. In 1992, his Edinburgh show was nominated for the Perrier award, and four years later he launched the TV programme that would run for seven years. He's remained involved in the political causes that shape his comedy ever since.

40 In Stand Up Years is the show he's taking on the road to mark that milestone. It's just him on stage, and the set runs from 20:00 to 22:00, with doors opening about half an hour earlier. Tickets are £22.00, and the venue is The Quad Theatre, Derriford Road, Plymouth PL6 8BH.