8/9/2019 An Open Letter to Richard Branson
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An Open Return Letter to Richard Branson 09-03-2010
2009 Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Tom Wrigglesworth recounts
his engaging taleof taking on the jobsworths, in An Open Return
Letter To Richard Branson. Having witnessed a Virgin train manager
abusing his position of authority, Tom stoodup for a little old
lady and took on "the man".
With a down-to-earth charm and an insightful eye for the
idiosyncrasies of British life, Tom is one of the country's leading
young stand-up comedians. In this BBC Radio 4 comedy, he not only
describes his confrontation with the hilariouslyvile train manager,
but also finds time to mull over other important issues suchas
train spotters, big beige granny bags and the length of time it
takes to eata pistachio nut.
Review from The Times of the Theatre Production
Who says that comedians cant make a difference? When Tom
Wrigglesworth stepped onto the 10.15 from Manchester to London last
autumn, he was just a hangover sufferer with a yen for some peace
and quiet. When he stepped off, he was a peoples h
ero, wanted by the police. And out of this bruising encounter
with petty officialdom hes crafted a beguiling hour of Fringe
comedy.
Tom Wrigglesworths Open Return Letter to Richard Branson tells
the story of how the lanky, frizzy-haired Yorkshireman was shaken
from his solipsism by an officious train conductor who refused to
let common sense or common decency intrude onhis duties. Inspecting
tickets, this jobsworth finds that Lena, the pensioner sitting
opposite Wrigglesworth, has accidentally taken a train half an hour
earlier than the one specified on her ticket.
His solution? To insist that she pay the 115 full fare. So Lena
has to break intothe money that she had kept to buy Christmas
presents for her grandchildren. Wrigglesworth acts, going up and
down the train to organise a whip-round; an act o
f dissent that the conductor doesnt take lightly he rings ahead
to Euston to gethim arrested for begging. In recounting all this,
Wrigglesworth flits between anacute rubbishing of corporate
overthink the cup of tea he cant take back to hisseat for health
and safety reasons, the Virgin Trains mantra of we aim to
exceedexpectations with very human observations about his fellow
passengers.
Its a great story, warmly and wittily told, that comfortably
exceeds expectationsin all but a couple of ways. The digressions he
makes from the train story reinforce his theme, and allow him to
eke out his hour, but slow down the narrative.And, as this mostly
delightful show comes to the end of its journey, his activism
detours him into a slight preachiness. In championing a move away
from a punitive pricing structure, whereby passengers can only buy
a full-price ticket on t
he day of their journey, he has a real-world impactVirgin
subsequently changedits rules. You may emit a cheer and/or shed a
grateful tear at this point in the
show.
But isnt the more important message here about being a human
being, about not just blindly following rules, rather than about
setting up new rules? So Im not entirely convinced by
Wrigglesworths consumer campaign which you can read more aboutand
support on www.lenaslaw.co.uk. Yet there is no doubt that he makes
a strongcase for himself as one of the most interesting young
comedians in town.
Presenter Tom Wrigglesworth
Producer Simon Mayhew-Archer
