BENEFIT GIGS
MARK THOMAS
llisu Darn Campaign, Pleasance, 20 Aug, 2pm; Gilded Balloon Teviot, 21 Aug, 11am; High On Laughter, Playhouse, 21 Aug, 8pm.
Pass the Perrier, Mark? Maybe not. Unless you’ve been a contestant on Big Brother, you’ll know the Perrier Award has been the subject of some controversy. The sponsors of this prestigious comedy prize, you see, are owned by the corporate colossus Nestlé and, well, Thomas explains.
‘They’re a multi-national company that have got quite a lot of problems over the marketing of baby milk substitutes. Talk to the World Health Organisation and they estimate if you could reverse the downward trend in breastfeeding, you could save up to a million lives a year. Phenomenal.’
Indeed. He was on holiday when the bubble went up, so to squeak, and did not enter the debate. ‘Completely unfair with the kids on the beach; “hang on a minute, daddy’s got to go and be ethical now”.’
Thomas was nominated for the Perrier himself in 1991 (two years before Nestle bought its way in), but that’s all mineral water under the bridge now. ‘The nice thing is for me there’s no “I must do well” this year,’ he says. ‘I’m not in that horrible rat race. If people come along to the show expecting it to be a laugh a minute, then they’re going to be seriously disappointed. I suspect the people who come along will be people who know the telly stuff and know that it’s going to be the all-singing, all-dancing human rights abuse show.’
Thomas is doing three shows, all fundraising benefits. Much of the material will be drawn from his involvement in the campaign against the building of the llisu dam in the Kurdish region of Turkey, a British supported venture, which, if it goes ahead, will displace 78,000 people from their homes.
‘We joked when we were out there, one of those bitter, bitter comments, that the fact-finding mission should have been sponsored by Kleenex because of
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RUBBERNECKER Cafe Royal, 18-25 Aug, 5.45pm.
“We're not going for the Perrier Award because our show won't be any good — we just haven't really put the effort in — we can only stand a week together and there's not a slide show in sight so we couldn't possibly win.’ says Ricky Gervais who may well be the funniest man on television at the moment: his sleazy Bilko-loser manager in The Office is so butt-clenchineg cringy he has you clawing for air between laughing and crying.
After years of struggling in comedy shows he was patently too good for. he has finally created a TV character in the same league as Fawlty or Rigsby. Vis- a-vis, it is probably worth paying a visit to his Fringe show Rubbernecker before he gets too famous.
‘It's about four people doing their own thing for a laugh. so there's no real coherence in the show,‘ he says. ‘all you can say about it is that it's maybe out there a bit. I‘m playing a less-than- genial host who's very ungenerous to the acts I have brought up with me.‘
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the amount of tears we’ve seen; rape, torture, disappearances. Stuff that makes you feel physically sick. One of the Kurds’ biggest allies was Jeffrey Archer,’ he says. ‘It shows how much shit they’re in.’
His work, as fans of Channel 4’s The Mark Thomas Product will know, has evolved from Situationist pranks to investigative journalism. Part-Lenny Bruce, part- John Pilger, Thomas is interested not in the 805 posturing anti—Thatcher gag but rather in hot pursuit of the truth, however trite that may sound. And he does not need to look to a dubious corporate award for inspiration.
‘The people [active in Kurdish human rights] are just fucking astounding. They’re taking Turkey to the European court. Seriously, these people, their stories. You think, “Fuck, I could never have done that!” They’re good people. They’ve been horribly tortured and come out of that and said: “Right, I’m going to do something positive to stop this”.’ (Rodger Evans)
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I Tommy Tiernan Galway's gigglemeister returns for his first Fringe dates since his Perrier- winning show two years ago. Get those tickets now. See preview. Pleasance, 22—27 Aug, 7. 75pm.
I Adam Bloom Acutely witty stuff from a comic who's going places. Pleasance, until 27 Aug, 7.05pm.
I Daniel Kitson Love. innocence and naughty words about male members in this queasy confessional. See review. Pleasance, until 27 Aug, 17pm. I Otis Lee Crenshaw The Perrier winner returns with more tales of bourbon hell and trailer trash squalor. See preview. Assembly Rooms, 78—27 Aug, 70. 75pm.
I Johnny Vegas Will you leave Johnny's latest show with your soul intact? Gilded Balloon, until 27 Aug, 70.30pm.
I Julia Morris Blissful ramblings as this Aussie plays Show And Tell. See review. Assembly Rooms, until 27 Aug, 9.30pm.
I Boom Chicago Europe is a Frankenstein monster and Bush is a Ioon. The Boomers tell us what we already know but in a funny way. Pleasance, until 27 Aug, 70.25pm.
I Ross Noble The Noble one is putting last year's indifference to rest with a storming set. Pleasance, until 27 Aug, 8.45pm. I Lano 8. Woodley Physical mirth and gags galore from ex- Perrier winners. Famous Spiege/tent, until 26 Aug, 8pm. I Mark Thomas See preview. left. Various venues and times. I Noble & Silver Situationist malarkey from a duo who will have you coming and going. See review. Pleasance, until 27 Aug, 9.40pm.
I Emo Philips The voice is there. the haircut isn't. But the form is still hot. Pleasance, until 27 Aug, 8pm.