Mark Thomas is Cuckooed

At the end of the first act, Mark Thomas comments that critics are

always wrong, even when they are nice. Consequently, you may wish to ignore everything I say and conclude that he is a charmless wanker who sees the world through a filter of cynical, leftist joylessness.

Cuckooed is divided into two clear acts: in the first, Thomas performs as his own warm-up man, giving a context to the play that forms the second half. He gives a whistle-stop tour of his activism, picking out highlights from his small acts of dissent - the successes and the failures - and weaves them skilfully around a shaggy dog tale of comedic rivalry. It establishes Thomas' persona - lacking the boorish arrogance of the stereotypical stand-up, he comes across as thoughtful, sometimes self-deprecating and politically astute. His activism, which leans towards the theatrical, aims to keep within the law, even using the law to support his campaigns. 

Despite being labelled a domestic extremist, Thomas makes his political beliefs appear friendly and humorous, and his actions are less an attack on institutions than an attempt to hold them to a higher standard. His targets, including arms dealers BAE, express his clear moral integrity and his generosity to fellow campaigners, and even the targets is admirable. 

And he can still unfurl a comic anecdote with flair and finesse.

Having set the scene, Thomas comes back in the second act with a precise purpose. Directed by Emma Callendar, Cuckooed is a 'proper play' with props, audio-visual trickery, verbatim dialogue, a soundtrack and everything. While the script follows Thomas' discursive style, it is more focussed and passionate. It tells the true story of how a close friend, a fellow activist, betrayed him and the campaign against the arms trade by spying on their group.

The narrative is tied together by Thomas' charisma and healthy doses of commentary on the issues at stake: by the finale, a video montage of people who have suffered from state or business surveillance, a case is made against the ubiquity of spying. Aside from a rigorous analysis of his own emotions, Thomas brings in testimony from other friends, and even tries to talk to his former ally.

The fusion of personal and political is effective, lending force to his attack on surveillance culture and bringing home the personal cost of political manipulation. Thomas clearly has a comprehensive and intelligent understanding of the relationship between different issues, but avoids conflating them. His attitude towards arms trading, for example, does not need the support of a Marxist analysis of capital. 

It is an exemplar of intelligent and passionate political theatre that demands attention and response.