Review: Mark Thomas: Bravo Figaro!

AS someone unfamiliar with his work, I approached my introduction to Mark Thomas with a surprising level of prejudice. He was, in my mind, always as much a political activist as he was a comedian. Which is probably a little unfair, given that he probably prefers to think of himself as a teller of tales rather than a walking stream of militant one-liners.

And there is no doubting Thomas’s ability to relay a story, in this case the true story of the love/hate relationship he enjoyed/endured with his father.

The twist in the tale, and the subject referenced in this tour’s title, Bravo Figaro, is the strange role which opera played in the life of a distinctly working class man from South London. For Mr Thomas Snr indulging in this elite artform represented aspiration, education, refinement and, ultimately, stimulation as his life collapsed due to a degenerative illness. For Thomas Jr it represented, initially at least, everything he hated as an angry young man – the establishment, snobbery and status.

Which might not sound like a lot of laughs, but this stage show is the humourous chronicling of relationships and misunderstandings and, in that respect, it works beautifully. Bravo Figaro is guaranteed to make you laugh and will probably make more than a few observers cry too.

Thomas, using just a few props and some voice recordings of his family, is both engaging and entertaining. But, given his penchant for the political, there’s something making you doubt the sincerity of the piece, particularly when he intermittently throws in a token gag at the expense of the LibDems here and there. When you’re on a stage talking about your terminally-ill father, however articulately, it’s neither the time nor the place. It’s certainly not something that’s going to sit well with many audiences.

November 6, The Studio@The Alhambra. 01274 432000, www.bradford-theatres.co.uk