The lights went down and the large projector on the back of the stage sprung into life. We are shown a brief history of The Nimmo Twins, how they rose to fame, where they have performed and the photos of the pair gradually looking older – and the question of how they’ve managed to keep going this long on three jokes… This is another chance to see their Sold Out 25th Anniversary Show and for them to try out some new sketches for their 2024 performances.
For an hour each side of the interval Owen Evans and Karl Minns kept the audience howling with laughter as sketch after sketch delivered a constant stream of funniness.
The sketch show format feels like a dying trend, however these guys prove to the contrary with their popular characters generating raucous laughter from the audience.
We had the usual display of Eastern Daily Press headlines for ridiculous articles you can’t believe are true and the guys cleverly link non-relating stories together for additional giggles.
Music came from a couple of sources, a jazzy tale which expertly swapped out adjectives, adverbs and describing words with Norfolk village names which were super funny if you had no idea about village names in Norfolk, and created utter hilarity if you did. Plus the talented Billy Boy B*llocks with his Tourettes and ‘issues’ which further added merriment to his songs, one being a well-known song about a local lottery winner where the audience already knew and joined in with the chorus.
Other characters included Anne, the older lady coming out with expressions you were not expecting, CSI Norfolk investigating missing letters, and The Councillors updating us on their new agenda for the region, including getting rid of the Blue Flag Award for the Norfolk coastline and having a more informed ‘Poo Flag’. Plus they are fully supportive of trans rights as they see it as an opportunity to cut the wage bill (the gender pay-gap issue – should it need explaining).
Of course we had the gorgeous She Go with her PodCast, including chat about the menopause – you know when you are experiencing low libido on the menopause as you take out the batteries of your sex toy and put them in the pepper grinder – and dating in Norfolk, how profiles are never accurate i.e., if they enjoy long walks it’s because they don’t have a car.
She Go teamed up with the Professor of Linguistics to help the audience understand the Norfolk accent: ‘Senny wonga atie monnum’ – a side-splitting sketch.
There were plenty of jokes which cannot be repeated outside of the theatre as they either offend, or just would not be the same if repeated by any other human. These guys have funny bones, their timing, their delivery, their facial expressions and their content is just quality.