Thom Tuck

Thom's fooling around

An interview with Thom Tuck.

Thom Tuck interview

Tommy Holgate interviews Thom Tuck about what he is doing at the Fringe.

Thom Tuck interview

Poor Thom Tuck. He was probably expecting a nice little chat ahead of appearing at the Manchester Comedy Festival when he agreed to speak with SSP, and instead got assaulted by Disney-related questions.

This is a special hour-long comedy drama about the French Revolution, written by and featuring the usually Victorian-based sketch troupe consisting of David Reed, Thom Tuck and Humphrey Ker.

However they were not the main stars of this special. These were Richard E. Grant playing the role of Robespierre, leader of the Terror; and Sally Hawkins as Marie-Therese, daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. The main story is an imagining of a conversation between the two that was never recorded.

The programme tells the story of the Revolution in a humorous way, although the history is very much a back drop to jokes and characters best described as daft. For example, Marie-Therese complains about the book she has been given to read while she has been in prison - an atlas so out of date that it does not include Spain. Also there are sketches featuring peasants having stone soup, because eating shoes is a luxury.

However, out of all the characters that appeared in the programme, my personal favourite was Marie-Therese's brother Louis-Charles (aka Louis XVII) who was portrayed as being rather dim and naïve. For example, he gets too excited about helping France's poor so he wants to donate all of his toys. In the end he gets a job making shoes, but gets beaten up by his master for making shoes which are too decedent.

There are other nice moments, like how the French revolutionary calendar would result in problems for Father Christmas; and also some nice quotes such as Robespierre's remark that: "You can't make a crème brûlée without burning some sugar."

It was an entertaining hour, although I would recommend that if you're looking for a comedy show which is more educational in its dealing of the French revolution, you may want to look at Mark Steel's Viva la Revolution.

An interview with Thom Tuck

Thom Tuck is a comedian who, as one third of The Penny Dreadfuls - a comedy group with a penchant for Victiorian-era tomfoolery - has achieved success in both stage and radio comedy. Their radio shows, Brothers Faversham and Guy Fawkes, were so popular that they are debuting a new radio play this year, set to broadcast in June.

The Penny Dreadfuls Present... Guy Fawkes (Radio 4, Thursday) is the sort of piece only a generation who understands little of war and persecution could produce. David Reed, Humphrey Ker and Thom Tuck, The Penny Dreadfuls themselves, wrote and acted it. They made the past into a comedy with an occasionally serious slant across a generally childlike address to bone crushing, the rack, the gallows and men in black hats with silly beards. The audience at the recording roared with laughter throughout. When you're too young to know about England's religious wars you think nothing about putting a Guy onto the bonfire. When you're old enough to play at being childish, hanging, drawing and quartering is surely no longer a joke.

The second series of this spoof documentary charting the history of that prestigious 19th Century family the Favershams is amusing and witty, with the odd laugh-out-loud moment thrown in for good measure.

Four sons of Sir Digby and Lady Alexandra Faversham were featured previously. This time the first of four instalments placed the spotlight on Titus Faversham (known to his friends as TC), son number five and Victorian Britain's greatest sportsman.

The writing of this tale really came into its own as TC became such an accomplished athlete at school that he simply leapt from one team to another, whether it be polo, cricket, football etc - he even beat a dolphin at swimming. But as his teammates were persuaded to turn pro and get paid for their sporting prowess, TC was determined to stay a gentleman amateur, however poverty stricken it made him.

Soon he discovered that one nasty entrepreneur in the new world was not just scheming to overthrow the mighty England at sport but was taking a stab at the Empire as well. Surely TC had to step in and save the day.

Humphrey Ker, David Reed and Thom Tuck (The Penny Dreadfuls) provided some of the best radio comedy writing and wordplay I had heard in a long while, boosted by great performances from other cast members Ingrid Oliver and Miles Jupp. Interestingly the producer was Julia McKenzie, an actress who, in her own right, has performed everything from satire to sitcom. Her experience in the genre must have been a bonus.