By Ed Edwards
Performed by Mark Thomas
Directed by Charlotte Bennett

Join legendary political comedian Mark Thomas and writer Ed Edwards, as they test drive a few ideas for their new play Ordinary Decent Criminal, touring later this year.

Ordinary Decent Criminal follows recovering addict Frankie (played by Mark Thomas) in the years following the Strangeways Prison Riot of 1991, as he enters the brave new world of a liberal prison experiment.

A new tale of freedom, revolution and messy love.

Ed Edwards - Writer

Ed is an ex-offender and multi-award winning playwright. He wrote previous plays The Political History of Smack and Crack and England & Son, both of which had hit runs at Paines Plough’s Roundabout at the Edinburgh Fringe and on tour.

Charlotte Bennett – Director

Charlotte Bennett (she/her) joined Paines Plough as Joint Artistic Director alongside Katie Posner in August 2019. For Paines Plough Charlotte has directed My Mother’s Funeral: The Show by Kelly Jones (Fringe First winner 2024); Reasons You Should(n’t) Love Me by Amy Trigg (winner of the Women’s Prize for Playwriting) which premiered at Kiln Theatre in May 2021 before embarking upon a UK tour of seventeen venues and returning to the Kiln in November 2022, and Run Sister Run by Chloë Moss (Sheffield Theatres/Soho Theatre).

Previously she was Associate Director at Soho Theatre where she led the new writing department, developing artists and commissions and programming. For Soho Theatre she directed Whitewash by Gabriel Bisset-Smith, Happy Hour by Jack Rooke, curated a six-month off-site arts festival in Waltham Forest and led playwriting competition the Verity Bargate Award. Prior to this she was Artistic Director of Forward Theatre Project; an artists’ collective she founded. For Forward Theatre Project she made and directed new plays which toured nationally inspired by working in partnership with different communities around the UK and at venues including the National Theatre, York Theatre Royal, Northern Stage, Derby Theatre, Live Theatre and The Lowry. As a freelance director she has worked extensively for Open Clasp Theatre Company creating new plays inspired by women in the North-East and she held the role of Producer for theatre company RashDash for 4 years where she toured experimental new theatre around the UK.

Mark Thomas – Performer (Frankie)

Mark Thomas is a comedian who has been performing for 35 years. How to describe his work? A mix of standup, theatre, journalism and the odd bout of performance art. He has won 8 awards for performing, 3 for human rights work and 1 he invented for himself.