Glenn Moore bursts into the Pleasance Cabaret Bar, talking 19 to the dozen.
An hour later, he’s striding out of the room, still yammering away madly. During the intervening 60 minutes he barely pauses to draw breath.
For those who don’t know him, Glenn Moore is a 33-year old English comedian. He’s put in shifts on Mock the Week and is a regular on The Stand Up Sketch Show. He’s on the radio too, in The News Quiz, The Now Show and The Dave Berry Breakfast Show.
I have to admit my hopes weren’t raised by the title of his Fringe show. “Will You Still Need Me, Will You Still Feed Me, Glenn I’m Sixty Moore” contains one too many grim puns even for a man like me who embraces dad jokes.
Razor sharp
Within moments my concerns were allayed. Glenn Moore is simply an excellent joke writer. From start to finish – and beyond – his show is full of well crafted one liners and clever running jokes.
The loose theme of the show is Moore questioning his life choices. Unemployed during the pandemic and living with his undertaker brother – “who was enjoying something of a career renaissance – Moore struggles with getting his work life back on track and trying to prevent his relationship going off the rails.
The premise is almost irrelevant. The joy is in watching Glenn Moore stitch together joke after joke at lightning pace. Most are extremely clever and original. There are a few duds in there but the show clicks along so quickly that you’re laughing at the next joke before the previous one has had time to fully sink in.
An incredible amount of work has gone into crafting this show. Delivered at the pace of an average comic this would easily be a full two hour performance. Every line is delivered with such enthusiastic and invested vigour that it’s impossible not to get swept along.
There’s no political message here. No difficult themes are tackled. You won’t discover the meaning of life. It’s just an hour of pure comedic escapism, and none the worse for it.
He’ll hate me for saying it – see the show if you want to know why – but Glenn Moore really is a laugh a minute.
Rating 5/5
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