Get Off Your Old Tush: Laughter Has No Age Limit

Spread the love

A few nights ago, I went out to a comedy show, and I can honestly say it was an absolute cracker of a night.

The stage was shared by a lively line-up of local stand-up comedians, six or eight in all, most of whom were familiar faces. I’ve seen several perform before, and every time they manage to leave me clutching my sides from laughing.

Now, standing up in front of a room full of people and trying to make them laugh? I’ve actually done it once. Just once. It went surprisingly well, I’m happy to report, well enough that I could proudly tick “perform stand-up comedy” off my life list. And that’s exactly where it’s staying. No return engagements required, thank you very much. Even with that small victory under my belt, I know just how much nerve it takes to step onto that stage. These comedians make it look effortless, as though they’re chatting away in their own living room and the audience are simply friends popping by for a cuppa. But behind that relaxed confidence is a remarkable amount of courage, which I admire enormously.

I went along with a young woman I know (half my age), bright-eyed, beautiful, and full of energy. The two of us had an absolute ball together. It was one of those evenings where the age difference simply melted away. We laughed at the same jokes, nudged each other during the particularly cheeky bits, and shared that conspiratorial grin that says, Did they really just say that?

It struck me at one point, while looking around the room glowing under soft stage lights and buzzing with laughter, that I couldn’t see many people who looked like they belonged to my age group. Now, I may have missed a few, but from where I was sitting, it seemed that the seventy-and-over brigade was a bit thin on the ground.

There was one comedian performing who was about my age, possibly even a little older, and he was brilliant. I’ve seen him before, and he has the audience eating out of the palm of his hand. Naturally, much of his material revolves around the realities of getting older, and it’s hilarious because, well… it’s true. The aches, the quirks, the baffling technology, it’s all fair game.

But apart from him, I struggled to spot anyone in the audience who looked like they might have been collecting their gold card bus pass for a few decades.

Which made me wonder.

Was it the time of night? The show started at eight o’clock. Perhaps, by that hour, many of my fellow vintage citizens are tucked up under the duvet with a cup of cocoa and a crossword puzzle.

Or perhaps the theme of the night played a part. The comedians proudly described the show as politically incorrect. That usually means a generous sprinkling of cheeky language and a few jokes that wander boldly across the line. Maybe that put some people off.

Who knows?

But sitting there, giggling away with the rest of the crowd, I found myself thinking that it was a bit of a shame.

Because here’s the thing: if you don’t get off your old tush and go out into the world, you miss things. You miss the laughter echoing around a theatre. You miss the fun of sharing a ridiculous moment with a stranger sitting next to you. You miss those delightful evenings where you walk out into the cool night air still smiling.