Mark Thomas, comedian – portrait of the artist

What got you started?
The fact that the one time the whole family came together was during shows like The Clitheroe Kid and Steptoe and Son. There was a cachet in our household if you could make people laugh. The first gag I told my dad, I nicked from Steptoe and Son and passed off as my own. He hadn't seen that episode, so he never knew.

What was your big breakthrough?
I've never had one – just a series of burnt bridges. I got lucky and then managed to fuck it up spectacularly. When I get bored, I go: "I just don't want to do this any more."

Has comedy lost its political bite?
No. There are plenty of good comics out there doing political stuff - from Susan Calman (1) talking about equal marriage, to Nadia Kamil, a Welsh-Iraqi performer, who did a feminist burlesque by stripping off a series of housecoats printed with slogans like "Equal pay" (2). When people say there's no politics in comedy, they're either mad or they're stuck in front of the telly watching Dave. They're like battery viewers: someone should liberate them.

Do you suffer for your art?
Don't be daft.

What's the last book you read?
A review copy of MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood (3). I'm a recent convert: I love the delightful play she has with words, action and comedic images.

Who is the new you?
I haven't got a clue – and I wouldn't want to curse them by naming them.

What's the biggest myth about being a comedian?
That we're secretly crying clowns.

What's the best advice anyone ever gave you?
I've had two good bits of advice. The first was from Tony Allen, who was part of the first wave of alternative comedy. He said: "Never do what you think the audience want you to do." And my old manager Kim Kinnie (4) told me to always take a change of clothes along to a gig. You get sweaty performing, you see.

Is there an art form you don't relate to?
Soap operas. Otherwise, I'm open to everything. I first went to see London Contemporary Dance Theatre (5) when I was 11, because my mates were ushers. And my love affair with artists includes Joseph Beuys (6), Nam June Paik (7) and the Fluxus art movement (8). I even like Morris dancing (9).

Do you care about money?
Yes. Anyone who says they're not concerned about money has too much of it.

How would you like to be remembered?
With enthusiasm.

In short

Born: London, 1963

Career: Has performed widely on TV and radio, including The Mary Whitehouse Experience and The Mark Thomas Comedy Product. Also tours frequently as a stand-up: his current show, 100 Acts of Minor Dissent, is at the West End Centre, Aldershot, tonight; markthomasinfo.co.uk

Low point: "The odd gig when you go out, see the audience staring at you blankly, and think, 'I'd rather not be here.'"

High point: "A gig in Brighton in aid of the Ilisu Dam protest in Turkey. Loads of activists turned up and it turned into a massive celebration."

Footnotes

(1)
Back to article Last February, in the Radio 4 show Susan Calman Is Convicted last February, the Glaswegian comic considered the issue of marriage and civil partnerships.

(2)
Back to article Nadia Kamil also seductively pulls from her underwear the slogan: "All rapes are caused by rapists."

(3)
Back to article The third of Atwood's dystopian trilogy, following Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood.

(4)
Back to article Kim Kinnie was formerly artistic director of London's Comedy Store.

(5)
Back to article LCDT is an avant-garde dance company founded in 1967, known for its poetic lyricism and dramatic intensity.

(6)
Back to article German artist Joseph Beuys famed for his sculptures and performance installations.

(7)
Back to article Late Korean American Nam June Paik is regarded as the founder of video art.

(8)
Back to article Fluxus was a 1960s movement that used found sounds and materials.

(9)
Back to article Specifically, the side of Morris dancing that's part of Folk Against Fascism.