Tom Wrigglesworth: I'm Struggling To See How That’s Helping

Note: This review is from 2008

Review by Steve Bennett

There is no flashy entrance for Tom Wrigglesworth in his Edinburgh solo debut; rather he welcomes his audience by serenading them into the room, acting as both walk on music andusher. This confident, relaxed tone continues through the 50 minutes of good stand-up with a broadly accessible theme.

The topics Wrigglesworth focuses on are largely little things that vex him or make him smile at their absurdity. Old people’s lack of skill with technology, Facebook, rail journeys and ‘youths’ are all familiar targets but Wrigglesworth’s gentle and clever observations throw some new life into them, and he rarely fails to hit the mark.

His greatest talent seem to lie in bantering with the audience, which provides some of the best moments. He has a fast and sometimes scathing wit, with the talent to put a heckler in their place while remaining friendly and lighthearted.

The broadness of his theme causes a problem when he comes to his conclusion, in which he appears under pressure to round up all of his pet peeves with a rant which includes callbacks to each topic. This is a needless distraction, diluting the strength of the original material and makes for a weak ending to what was a funny and engaging performance.

Reviewed by: Corry Shaw

Review date: 1 Jan 2008
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett

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