Mark Thomas, the ‘godfather of political comedy’, is coming to Jersey in September to perform his show ‘Gaffa Tapes’. He’s not unfamiliar with the island, previously referencing it in his show ‘The Manifesto’. This Radio 4 series explored ideas with world-changing potential – one of which was to invade Jersey and get all the tax money back. In actuality this was rather difficult, and Mark assured me his visit this time is for purely comedic purposes. As part of his act, he’s requested a cannon, and to be pointed in the direction of the bullion room.
All jokes aside, Mark’s famous mix of comedy, theatre and journalism has made him one of the oldest surviving comics. He’s been performing for almost 40 years, saying “I know what I’m doing. Trust me, I won’t fuck it up”. His comic career began back in 1985, to the dismay of parents who wanted him to do anything but. Mark was drawn to the scene where everything is fair game, saying the unsayable and generally “mucking around”. He hailed comedy as “the one place where people can express themselves, and be who they are rather than a vision of who everyone else wants them to be”. It’s one of two things that keeps him on the stage. The other, he admits, is a frequent lack of funds. “Being skint is quite the motivator”, he said, “the best way to get me creating something interesting is to take away all my money”.
Being strapped for cash has inspired a wide array of Mark’s endeavours, including six series of ‘Mark Thomas Comedy Project’ and three ‘Dispatches’ for Channel 4. Alongside this, he’s written 5 books, 4 play scripts, held 2 art exhibitions and written a show for the Royal Opera House. A by-product of his fascination with Politics has been his success in forcing a politician to resign, as well as changing laws on tax and public demonstration. He’s taken the police to court three times (and won), with the fourth time currently in the pipeline. In his spare time, he walked the length of the Israeli Wall in the West Bank (724km), and broke the Guinness World Record for number of protests in 24 hours.
To commemorate turning 50, Mark dedicated an entire year of his life to intentionally living provocatively. It inspired 100 Acts of Minor Dissent, which includes an all-women car race outside the Saudi Arabian embassy. To motivate him on down-days, Mark promised he’d donate £1000 to UKIP if he failed in his mission. This was the perfect ultimatum – he finished the year on 105.
Mark’s excellence in his field has landed him 8 awards for performing, 3 for human rights work and 1 that he invented himself. He told me this was to mock Coca-Cola, after they awarded themselves the ‘Golden Peacock Award for Best Environmental Corporate Behaviour’. Their pathetic attempt at hiding a multitude of sins led to Mark creating and awarding himself the ‘Emerald Eagle Award for Unbiased Journalism’. The joke made it to his website, for journalists to pick up on from time to time.
Mark’s done a lot over the years, always keeping humour in mind. For him, “the fact that it ends up as a comedy show is what’s important”. Without “over-egging the pudding”, he sees the stage as a medium for accelerating social change. He said “I know some people say that comedy can’t change a thing. And I sort of think, well, of course it does, because you start off not laughing and then you end up laughing”. He added, “that’s change. The building block is change”. For Mark, the perks of the job are pushing the public mood and annoying the right people. Audiences of ‘Gaffa Tapes’ can expect the finest standup form with an anti-Tory sentiment. It promises to be a night of jokes, rants, politics, play and the occasional sing song. Buy your ticket online, leave your cannon at home.
Mark Thomas will perform ‘Gaffa Tapes’ at the Jersey Arts Centre, on Tuesday 24th September, 8pm.
