BRAVO FIGARO!
BRAVO FIGARO!
MARK THOMAS
(UNITED KINGDOM)
16 March - 22 March 2015
Rangatira, Q Theatre
Bravo Figaro! - the true tale of a working class builder's love of opera, a battle with degenerative illness, and a Royal Opera performance at a bungalow in Bournemouth will be told during Auckland Arts Festival 2015, Monday 16 - Sunday 22 March.
Not many South London builders play opera at work but comedian Mark Thomas's father did. With a passion for Verdi, Rossini, Puccini and Mozart, Colin Thomas's zeal burned brightly, regularly blasting his Clapham neighbourhood with classical recordings and embarrassing his son whenever he worked on building sites alongside him.
But when he is diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease, Thomas senior's life begins to crumble. As his father's illness progresses, Mark Thomas makes a larger-than-life gesture and stages a concert with singers from Covent Garden at his father's Bournemouth home to try to connect with him through music.
Woven through with recordings of his parents' voices and extracts from opera we all know and love, Bravo Figaro! takes the audience on an incredible ride through Thomas's contradictory, complex and movingly personal feelings for his brusque parent.
But as Thomas is a comedian at heart, there are plenty of laughs here too!
A master storyteller and writer, Mark Thomas has been described as a leading light of Britain's alternative comedy scene. Fiercely political, he first became known as a guest comic on BBC 1's The Mary Whitehouse Experiment in the late 1980s, then gained infamy hosting The Mark Thomas Comedy Product, on Channel Four. His show, Cuckooed was a sold-out smash hit at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and where it was awarded the 2014 Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award, and a Fringe First.
"A focused, crafted, journey into a defining relationship of a mans life" - Exeunt Magazine.com
"Touching but brilliantly funny" - The Times, London
"Absolutely superlative stuff" - Chortle.co.uk
SEASON DETAILS
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Show |
Bravo Figaro! |
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Where |
Rangatira, Q Theatre |
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When |
Monday 16 March, 7.30 pm; Tuesday 17 March - Saturday 21 March, 9.00pm; Sunday 22 March, 8.00pm |
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Duration |
1 hr no interval |
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Price |
A Res $58.00 Friend/Conc/Group $53.00 B Res $45.00 Friend/Conc/Group $39.00 |
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Bookings |
Book at Ticketmaster outlets: www.ticketmaster.co.nz/ P: 09 970 9700 or 0800 111 999; Q Theatre: www.qtheatre.co.nz P: 09 309 9771 |
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Information |
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Social Media |
Facebook: facebook.com/Aklfestival Twitter: @Aklfestival |
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Video |
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Media enquiries |
Meredith McGrath, Publicist P: +64 (0)9 3740317 M:+64 (0)27 4473247 E: Meredith.mcgrath@aaf.co.nz |
With support from Platinum patrons Adrian Burr and Peter Tatham.