BOOKING NOW: MUST SEE EVENT

England & Son

Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough at 7.30pm on November 8 & 9. Tickets are available from the box office on 01723 370541 and online at www.sjt.uk.com

England & Son, a one-man show starring Mark Thomas which was highly acclaimed at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, comes to Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre next month.

It takes audiences on a kaleidoscopic odyssey where disaster capitalism, empire, stolen youth and stolen wealth merge into the simple tale of a working-class boy who just wants his dad to smile at him.

England & Son was written specifically for Mark by award-winning playwright Ed Edwards and is Mark’s first ever tour in a production that he has not written himself. The show is directed by Cressida Brown. With some deep, dark laughs – and some deep, dark love – along the way, this is a one-man play based on characters from Mark’s own childhood as well as Ed's personal experience in jail. Ed Edwards began his creative career as a circus performer and now juggles a writing career, lecturing, making films and child-rearing.

Virtually illiterate at the age of 11, Ed eventually managed to educate himself, get to university and become a professional writer. He spent three-and-a-half years in prison in the early 90s for drugs offences where he published his first novel. He has now published five novels, a children’s book and worked for several continuing TV dramas including Holby City, Brookside and The Bill. With several original plays broadcast on Radio 4 as well as short films on Channel 4 and BBC 2, Ed has recently directed a number of short films and co-directed the feature film Scrambled.

Having garnered five-star reviews and several awards at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer, Mark Thomas is now as acclaimed in theatre as he is in comedy. He has done shows about visiting the West Bank, starting a comedy club in Jenin, espionage, lobbying Parliament, walking in the footsteps of the highest NHS officials, playing at The Royal Opera House, stopping arms deals and creating manifestos.

He had six series of The Mark Thomas Comedy Product on Channel 4, several television documentaries and radio series, written several books, grabbed a Guinness World Record, toured sell-out tours and won numerous awards.