Political comedian Mark Thomas stars in new play at Leeds Playhouse
Renowned political comedian, activist and actor Mark Thomas – a man with as many awards for human rights as for his humour – is coming to Leeds Playhouse later this month in a new play about freedom, revolution and messy love.
In Ordinary Decent Criminal, he takes on the role of Frankie, a recovering addict who’s just been sentenced to three and a half years for dealing.
He soon discovers that his fellow convicts are not what they seem, and, with his typewriter, his activist soul, and his sore lack of a right hook, he somehow finds his way into their troubled hearts, and they into his.
Mark Thomas, a former student at Bretton Hall College, Wakefield, has built a stellar reputation on the stand-up circuit for his uncompromising, provocative, multi award-winning political comedy shows.
But that is not the only string to his bow. Among many, many other things, he has also won numerous awards, from the likes of Amnesty International and the United Nations.
He is a human rights activist; and had a long-running TV series that ended the career of at least one corrupt politician and put an arms dealer behind bars.
He has written six books and four plays; set up a comedy club in a West Bank refugee camp; and held the world record for the most political demonstrations in a single day.
Ordinary Decent Criminal is written by multi award-winning playwright and ex-offender Ed Edwards.
“I love Ed. I properly love him,” said Mark Thomas. “He is my brother and my comrade. Working with him is always beautiful and intense.
“I improvise less in theatre. Ed has gone to the bother of writing the script so I should do my best to stick to it.
"I like the emotional depth and power of theatre and I love the brevity of stand up.
"I think Ed manages to grab those two things really well. The big difference is theatre audiences rarely turn up drunk!”
Ordinary Decent Criminal is on at Courtyard Theatre, Leeds Playhouse, on November 12-13.
Box office 0113 213 7700
Book online leedsplayhouse.org.uk