Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Not even a fire alarm going off with the manner of absurd authority can challenge the influence that Mark Thomas has on his fans and followers, for a brief time the Bandstand in Williamson Square became his stage as he gave an impromptu talk on some of the laws areas would pass up and down the country if the people truly had their own manifesto. In other hands the slight turn of events could have been a painful but Mark Thomas is nothing but a man with a plan, a man who doesn’t let convention get in the way of a great radical thought and in his own way he turned a moment of audience despair into perhaps a brilliant act of dissent.
It is easy to see the joy Mr. Thomas has in coming to Liverpool and especially the Playhouse Theatre, the sparkle in his eyes as he performs and rages against some of the stupidity in the world, corporations who don’t pay tax, bankers, porn, certain newspapers, the insane thinking of those who believe themselves to be above the law pushing downwards and not believing that somebody won’t start hitting back, can be seen to be even greater as he relishes a Liverpool crowd who go a long way to support him.
It may be that the Merseyside doesn’t like being told how to act and will quite rightly go against the grain of those in charge, especially when they are acting foolish, bizarre or down right ignorant, whatever the reason, there can be no doubt the stunning reception he received coming on and leaving the stage. Liverpool audiences certainly understand the man and his mission.
After the sad passing of his father, Mr. Thomas has been away from the stage but his new show 100 Acts of Minor Dissent is a welcome that many may have feared he would not ever see again. From every corner of the theatre, the welcome though was loud and approving; not that he needs endorsement or appreciation, what he does get is respect. From stories of putting stickers over certain books in chain bookstores, (signed by the author ones on the Bible) to photographing a policeman a day for year, the random acts of dissent are enough to make you enjoy the tiny rebellions he does in the name, sometimes of justice, sometimes in the name of pricking the inflated balloons of ego foisted upon the rest of humanity by the so called self-righteous.
Mark Thomas was simply stunning, the wit and wisdom of a legend wrapped up in the playful blanket of an angry colossus. Nights like this don’t happen that often but when they do, they are electrifying.
Ian D. Hall