The letter

Dear John

I'm sorry to tell you this, and I'm sorry that I have to tell you in this way. This is the hardest letter to write and, probably, the hardest letter to read. But I can't go on like this any more, I can't stop pretending, I can't go on with this facade. We used to know each other so well and now we've become like strangers you and I. You don't listen to me anymore; We used to share everything, but now I feel like you're a closed book, a brick wall. And so for once I want you to listen to me. There's so much I want to say and so little time to say it. You are my audience, you will pay attention, you will not move, you will not talk. You will listen to me and do exactly what I tell you to. You will laugh in the right places, you will applaud at the end, you will leave with a feeling of fulfillment and a smug smile on your face which suggests you understood exactly what this was about.

We talk about the idea of Tim reading the letter with punctuation e.g. I'm sorry to tell you this comma and I'm sorry I have to tell you in this way full stop. To expose the workings of the letter like the workings of the show. We de-rig the lights, leave a ladder centre stage and go home.