There’s no doubting Thomas’ prescription for the NHS
One Friday afternoon back in 1997 or 1998 a university pal suggested a road trip. To London. From Teesside. That’s a good 250-ish miles to travel and four hours on the road just to get there.
The pal had secured tickets to see tickets to see comedian and activist Mark Thomas who we had become aware of through TV shows like ‘Mark Thomas Comedy Product’ and we both thought he offered something fresh and entertaining enough to drive to London.
Long story, short; That Friday I enjoyed an 8-hour car journey and didn’t get to see a show. Traffic and poor planning meant we missed admission time so we immediately turned around vowing never to speak of the incident again (Sorry M, two decade’s silence is pretty good going though).
What did we learn? University students are impulsive and have too much time on their hands and that there are remarkably few petrol stations between Northallerton and Teesside open in the early hours of the morning.
Fast forward 20-ish years and I finally got to see Mark put on a show closer to home as his ‘Mark Thomas: Check-Up: Our NHS @ 70’ began a three-night run at Newcastle’s Live Theatre on Tuesday night.
The show’s premise is simple — take the temperature of the British public healthcare system, designed to replace fear with care, 70 years on. And there’s no doubting Thomas has put in the hours; scrubbing in with surgeons, quizzing policy makers, sitting with GPs and care givers and patients. The result is a fast-paced hour-and-a-bit in which Mark flip-flops between narration and impersonation as he seeks to bring his interviews and observations to life with two projectors, a vanity screen and a chair as his only props.
There’s undoubtedly lots to cover as Mark touches on dementia, obesity, PFI and more but the focus is scattergun and what at first feels invigorating becomes more tiresome as the focus perpetually flits butterfly-like from topic to topic with barely time for Thomas or the audience to draw breath.
While the characters and situations Mark portrays are vividly brought to life they lack the impact they should given the mental picture we all already have of a healthcare system that’s cherished yet beleaguered and pushed to breaking point.
As a case in point, an attempt to show how we’re all investing and invested in a healthcare system that works (and how our lifestyles and predispositions set us up to call on its services) felt wasted. Mark’s GP consult as a 55-year-old did little to frame the narrative elsewhere and drew little in the way of conclusions.
By the end of the hour, Mark presses us to remember our healthcare is mid-table or ‘Jedward’ at best. Cherished, yes, but there’s no denying it could use more money (it’s morally right to fight inequality and invest in health), and there’s timebombs on the horizon (in the form of an ageing population and PFI debt). And, obviously, what’s never in doubt is the care of healthcare staff who continue to go above and beyond.
An entertaining hour then, for sure, but I can’t help but feel that with a narrower topic focus, a more cohesive and progressive narrative, and slowing down the incredibly fast-paced speech, a Thomas production could ultimately feel much more fulfilling.
Mark Thomas: Check-Up: Our NHS @ 70
Until 7 March 2019, Live Theatre, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne.
