Mark Thomas

Comedy picks for the Edinburgh Fringe 2011

20 Jul 2011

David O’Doherty Two shows this year from the beloved man of lo-fi musical comedy with the high-laugh quotient. His usual brilliant sit-down/stand-up fare, David O’Doherty is Looking Up, is augmented by his debut on the one-man comic play scene. Rory…

Mark Thomas: Extreme Rambling (Walking the Wall)

Following a dangerous tourist trail

12 Aug 2011

The problem with political comedy is that, in sharing a joke with a person simultaneously making a serious point, you can easily become confused about what it is you’re signing up for. Added to this, Mark Thomas has an enviable rhetorical tool at his…

Books from Mark Thomas, Emma Kennedy, Jon Richardson, Andy Riley and Paul Barker

Comedy books round-up March 2011

15 Mar 2011

With the annual Glasgow comedy beanfeast having its last laughs, there are a bunch of opportunities to seek solace in book form. Extreme Rambling (Ebury) by Mark Thomas is the paper version of his current touring show in which he walks the entire length…

30 top shows at the Edinburgh Fringe 2010

The List's pick of the Edinburgh Festival programme

23 Jul 2010

From Turner Prize-winning Martin Creed and New York theatre experimentalists The Wooster Group to former wild child Storm Large and promising newcomer Jonny Sweet, this is The List's pick of August’s entertainment.

Martin Bell, Mark Thomas and Annie Lennox set for Festival of Politics

Power of the People event examines political process

16 Jul 2010

Were you depressed by the outcome of the general election? The Conservatives back in power despite being all but annihilated in Scotland. Labour collapsed despite being endorsed north of the border. The Lib Dems putting Cameron in Downing Street. The…

The People’s Manifesto - Mark Thomas interview

18 Jan 2010

Political reform may sound like a task filled with difficult problems, but as Mark Thomas explains; we already have all the answers. While touring last year’s “it’s the stupid economy” show Mark asked audiences to suggest policies to sort out British…

Mark Thomas set for gig at The Stand

7 Jan 2010

1 Mark Thomas was born in South London, to a midwife mother and a self-employed builder dad who was at one point a lay preacher at Clapham Junction’s Nazarene Church. Thomas declared himself to be an atheist at the age of 12. 2 While he was trying…

Top 20 Festival Shows

12 Aug 2009

Emmanuel Jal There are few people who could even imagine the terrors of being a child made to fight in a war-torn homeland. This guy has lived it and come through the other side. Jen Hadfield In a year of poetry shocks, this Shetlands-based…

Comedy Hitlist

The best comedy from the festival

9 Aug 2009

Pappy’s Fun Club A supersonic jaunt through a ludicrous yet hilarious number of sketches in a mere 60 minutes. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 31 Aug (not 17), 7.20pm, £12-£14 (£10.50-£12.50). Hans Teeuwen The Dutch comic-actor breaks…

Comedy Hitlist

Who's making us laugh at the Fringe?

29 Jul 2009

Die Roten Punkte - Robot/Lion Tour, Janeane Garofalo, Laura Solon: Rabbit Faced Story Soup, Mark Thomas: The Manifesto, Rhys Darby: It's Rhys Darby Night, WitTank

Campaign manager - Mark Thomas

The comic who matters brings democracy to the Fringe

13 Jul 2009

The origins of the apocryphal Chinese curse ‘may you live in interesting times’ are obscure. But for comedian and activist Mark Thomas, political instability, economic meltdown and the imminent collapse of Western civilisation can occasionally feel like…

Festival of Politics

14 Aug 2008

Meanwhile, over at the Scottish Parliament... the Festival of Politics is back for a fourth year and making visiting Fringe slebs really work for their money, as Simon Callow leads a discussion on changing rights for LGBT communities in the UK, and…

Best of the rest - Festival of Politics

22 Jul 2008

Banking on Disaster? With the world economy faltering badly, is the credit crunch about to spiral out of control into a global depression? Among those we hope will be easing our fears is presenter of Dragons’ Den and Today, Evan Davis. Unjust…

Hitlist - The best comedy

20 Sep 2007

• Fred MacAulay The star of telly and radio also happens to be a truly inspiring stand-up performer and this show is one of the main draws of the Merchant City Festival. The Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow, Sat 22 Sep. • Debra-Jane Appelby The former…

Hitlist

The best comedy

18 Sep 2006

Adam Hills The kindest Australian on the planet (you wouldn’t catch him chopping the tails off stingrays) charms the community with more tales of whimsy. City Halls, Glasgow, Fri 22 Sep. Frank Sidebottom A right blast from the past here as the…

Autumn highlights

1 Sep 2006

STAND-UP/SKETCH SHOWS Come early September and a realisation dawns on the comedy world. Yes indeed, there is life beyond the Edinburgh Fringe. Of course, those who help to schedule our comedy viewing pleasures all-year round have had their future…