Interview Tom Wrigglesworth
Simon O'Hare chats to the Sheffield comic whose star is on the rise
Interview: Tom Wrigglesworth
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Tom Wrigglesworth’s excellent Open Letter to Richard Branson tour calls into The Library this fortnight, in which he recounts his real life run-in with an over-zealous train guard who tried to have him arrested after he held a whip-round for a pensioner who was travelling with an ‘invalid’ ticket.
Have you had any response from Virgin about the show?
Yeah, I’ve had a message from Richard Branson saying well done and good luck with the tour, I’ve had a few Virgin employees come along and Richard Branson’s sister came to see it, she loved it. It isn’t actually Virgin bashing; it’s against that guard. Virgin in the end changed the law anyway, so it was good on them.
Were you thinking about the comic potential as the incident was unfolding?
No, when it was happening I was really angry. It was halfway through when he said ‘you’re gonna get arrested’ that I just thought, well, it just got to be funny from then on really. Then afterwards, I started telling my friends what had happened and they just found it hilarious. And then it just got knocked into a longer routine.
I guess you’re very interested in language and how a single word can affect a joke?
Very much so, you’re right to say that. But what I think is a more precise point is the rhythm of a sentence can be incredibly important as to whether people laugh or not - just the addition or removal of a word, or syllable in fact. Changing a word to being a shorter or a longer synonym, with regard to syllable count, can suddenly lift it into a nice sounding phrase or not. If you think about it, you’ve got one-liners and puns, and then you’ve got jokes where you’re thinking of something else and you ‘pull back and reveal’, and then obviously you’ve got smutty stuff. But the rest of it is actually just well-phrased sentences.
Has alternative comedy now become the mainstream?
I guess so. It’s been twofold: it’s been the rise of the alternative and the decline of the mother-in-law stuff. So unwittingly, the alternative’s become the mainstream. I did a radio thing with Tom O’Connor last night and that guy, he just talks in jokes! It’s just jokes when he’s speaking, it’s remarkable.
Do you notice different humour around the country, or is that a stereotype?
A bit of a stereotype. I mean, Liverpool’s a bit of an island to itself. I think everyone agrees with that. Comedically or not, they’re just a law unto themselves. But I find it’s more to do with where you are in that city, a posh bit or a studenty or slightly rougher bit. Other than that there’s not a great deal of difference between Guildford and, you know, Leeds. Having said that, the Liverpool thing I totally subscribe to. And I do find there’s something about Yorkshire people that I find funny. But you’re dealing with such a personal thing. An accent or an attitude can really resonate or really put you off; just in its delivery or its assumptions, it can turn it from being really great, or not.
What are your plans after the UK tour?
I’m going to New Zealand to do the tour, and then I’m going to Canada to do it, and then that’s it. Hopefully I’ll have written the next one by then, but there’s a lot to do.
Can you ever switch off from comedy and what are your other interests?
I do overhear things and quickly pull out my phone and note it down, definitely, I’ve always done that. But outside of it now I’m just promoting the tour and it’s all very much full-time. I just like coming home and playing the guitar and cooking. You know, party animal. I wish I was a bit more rock’n'roll to be truthful. I’ve got a duck soup on the go as we speak.
17 February, The Library, 229 Woodhouse Lane, LS2 3AP, 0113 244 0794, 8pm, £10
Posted on Wednesday 27th January 2010
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