the glummer twins

.. where did the time go ..

.. we’ve been busy ..

Having first performed together thirty years ago as the Circus of Poets – which also featured Ian McMillan – David Harmer and Ray Globe are back on stage as the Glummer Twins, billed as stand-up poetry from the beat generation. At one point Globe describes a poem as “a little nostalgia piece – which of them aren’t?!” and indeed, this is a show that looks at the world from a particular generational perspective; either looking back to the past, or recounting the incongruities of the present. A cracking early poem, “Just turned sixty, taking it badly”, sets the tone with its emphasis on ill-health, misery, and distant memories of sex. But the downbeat message is, of course, subverted by the humour in the rhymes and the energy of the performance. The Glummer Twins – whose name is a pun on the Glimmer Twins, Jagger and Richards – have a great eye for the absurdities and indignities of aging, a telling image and a witty rhyme. There are backing tracks for some poems, and the Eric Morecambe-esque Globe plays the guitar; the musical references are in keeping with the vintage of the performers, featuring The Kinks, Aerosmith and Bob Dylan amongst others. On these, Harmer takes more of a lead on the poems, but there’s an amusing recurring joke as he always needs Globe to count him in. The easy banter and friendship between the likeable pair are winning traits, and create a relaxed atmosphere in the Barrel Room. They aren’t quite word perfect yet, but they acknowledge it through knowing references to the script, and there’s a confidence that they’re old hands and will be able to pull it off. The pure nostalgia poems go down a storm, but perhaps limit the appeal of the show to those of a certain age. I’m in my mid-forties, and many of the references were a bit early for me. The themes of waging and the problems thereof are similarly a little overdone, but some of the imagery is memorable; I liked the thought of mods graduating from mopeds to mobility scooters and going looking for rockers (the type of chair, that is). On the other hand, the jaundiced but comic views on the modern world – middle aged men in Lycra and Bake Off – don’t feel particularly original.  And it was one of the few poems that avoided the topic of age and raging which was easily the hit of the evening, featuring some heavy duty literary punning in the style of hard boiled crime noir. Perhaps I’m being churlish – and maybe it’s because, remarkably for me, I might have been the youngest in the room – but while the material on aging was lapped up by an overwhelmingly appreciative audience, the Glummer Twins are talented enough writers and performers to extend their range and widen their appeal. All the same, you absolutely won’t regret spending an hour in their company. They’re very funny men, those Glummer Twins.

The audience of 30 were crammed into Buxton Underground Venue for an hour of poetic entertainment provided by two talented performers, David Harmer and Ray Globe. It is now 30 years since the duo first appeared on stage together. They now describe themselves as the wizened Glummer Twins, hoping to put the 21st century to rights. Not only have David and Ray written their own comic odes, based on the theme of growing older (now that they have achieved the age of the "silver surfers") but Ray also supplies excellent musical support through his electronic guitar and backing track. The duo has the empathy and professional delivery of Morecambe and Wise, with the extra bonus that they have personally written and produced their own scripts - which could be claimed to be: "The odes wot they rote!". Topics included train-spotters and ageing mods, middle-aged cyclists in lycra, buying a car from a dodgy dealer in Doncaster and much more. The audience, mainly of the "third age" themselves, laughed and applauded enthusiastically after every hilarious rendition and there were calls of "more" as the hour of fun drew to a close. I recommend this show to all those who enjoy a genuinely funny and talented performance. This is my own attempt at poetry! The "twins" should emerge from their Underground Venue, And join the stars with their talented menu. Thank you David and Ray.