As would be expected from a Mark Thomas show, Black and White is one for the lefties amongst us.
Sat in a room full of people with the same attitude towards the current government as Mark himself, it is no real surprise that within the first five minutes any Tories are told to f*** off right now if they happened to have stumbled into the club by mistake, and go cry under a statue that’s dedicated to someone who had slaves instead.
This pretty much sets the scene for the rest of the show, and it’s a great one.
The energy Mark brings to the stage is phenomenal from start to finish with sweat dripping off his nose and no stop for a breath of fresh air as he passionately draws you into tales of political incompetence, the state of the world, strikes and even diabetes.
Some fairly extreme views involving lamp posts and string are voiced out loud, but even then you somehow can’t help but agree with him and everything he says such is the passion and charm coming over the microphone.
The insightful humour continues to elicit roars of laughter from the crowd, right up to the point where we are treated to an expert masterclass in how to deal with hecklers, as one of the masses shouts a comment in reply to one joke that doesn’t quite hit the spot.
Mark takes the chance to point them out, much to the pleasure of the rest of us here, and offers to workshop it with them so next time it doesn’t fall so flat, suffice to say, there aren’t any other heckles in the set!
As if this wasn’t enough to create a feeling of comradery, after nearly an hour Mark celebrates the fact we are all in a room again by joining everyone together for a rousing sing-along, before enjoying himself telling a flurry of ‘When Boris Died’ jokes which the crowd love.
Sign me up for the people’s pirate navy, and if you’re a Tory don’t bother going, you’ll only be told to leave a few minutes in but for everyone else this is a performance not to be missed.
Mark Thomas: Black and White, 13:30, The Stand Comedy Club, August 8-14, 16-28
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/mark-thomas-black-and-white
