Mark Thomas may be an atheist but he's not averse to a little preaching - more than a little preaching. And like many men (and women) of the cloth, he has a tendency to run on too long - so long that the congregation assembled at Concorde 2 on Wednesday night started to get fidgety.

Usually only the most foolhardy person would dare alert a comedian to their presence, but then Mark is no ordinary comedian. He doesn't do improvisation - at least, he doesn't do improvisation well - and his one attempt at audience participation was somewhat unsuccessful.

What Mark does do well is tell stories, "rambling" anecdotes (his admission) about his work undermining the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. Tales about his applications to hold demonstrations near Parliament (made illegal without police permission under Section 132 of the Act) take up the first half of the show.

Forget the feeding of the 5,000, this is the mass lone demo of the 150. Mark demonstrates for and against anything: Against Big Brother, for the protection of surrealism, against the need to get permission for demonstrations.

In fact, Mark is now the Guinness World Record holder for political demonstrations after holding 21 separate protests in one day (all of which required separate permissions from various police stations).

Some of his act is, to quote the man himself, "tried and tested".

A lot seemed familiar - and I last saw him two years ago.

However, I don't want to knock Mark. Sometimes he's so Guardian I want to beat him with it, but I don't want to knock him. He's one of a kind - the working man's Rory Bremner, if you will - and he does inspire. I may not be ready to pick up a placard just yet but I might ask Mark to do one of his McDemos on my behalf.

Hands up who wants a "Ban Mark Thomas's protests" protest?

  • Mark Thomas plays Concorde 2 again on Thursday. Call 01273 673311