Interview: Mark Thomas

Revered by those who like their comedy political – or their politics comical – Mark Thomas has carved out a unique niche at the place where comedy and activism intersect. Six Channel 4 series, awards galore, a Guinness World Record (most demonstrations – 20 – held on one day), sell-out tours, battling multinational corporations, exposing abuses of civil liberties and corporate skulduggery: Thomas is as busy as he is inspiring.
Thomas’ latest show Trespass carries on from where its predecessor 100 Acts of Minor Dissent left off. Using his signature style of stand-up, journalism, activism and mayhem, Mark sets out to carve a small space for mischief and random chance in our increasingly cordoned-off cityscapes.

Your Bristol gigs always sell out. Are you aware of having a certain audience here?
I did a show called The Manifesto where I asked the audience to come up with ideas to make the world a better place. Each night we would discuss the ideas and then vote on our favourite policy, which entered the Manifesto. Bristol voted to burn David Cameron in a wicker man to ensure a good harvest, and to replace every mention of ‘the devil’ in the Bible with the word ‘Bagpus’. Bristol is clearly a place of alternative thinking. 

Where else in the world does your brand of political comedy go down well?
This year I have toured Palestine, New Zealand and Australia, and I’ll soon be off to New York for a month’s run of my last show Cuckooed. That’s all on top of touring the UK, so I do get about. My favourite places (other than Bristol) are Sheffield, Liverpool, Cardiff, Belfast, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Those gigs are always bound to go with a bang.

Do you think of yourself as an activist who does comedy, or a comedian who does activism?
It’s all rolled up together. I want my work to provoke people to action, and to have a life outside the theatre. So for me the creative process and activism are intrinsically entwined.

So what is your take on the whole right-to-roam/freedom-of-our-cities subject?
Not only do corporations own too much of our cities, they are also turning our homes into investments. This, plus the lack of council houses (or social housing) is creating hollowed-out, yuppie shitholes. Part of the answer is massive council house building – at fair rent, not market rent. We should also introduce a land tax, where land owners pay a percentage of market rate each year. Live in it, use it or lose it. And there should be a massive tax hike on second homes and buy-to-let properties. That lot’s for starters.

Do you hope to spread a bit of awareness and self-determination? Or just to make us laugh?
Both! I believe that creative work should inspire both the people creating it, and the audience, to action. It should be fun – but also provocative.

Mark Thomas brings his show Trespass to the Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol from Wednesday, September 9 to Saturday, September 12. For more info, visit www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com/shows/detail/trespass