Poet Roger McGough tickled the audience at Teddington Landmark Arts Centre with his renowned quick-witted rhymes last night.
Bringing with him a blend of old and new, the 75-year-old originally from Liverpool and now living in Barnes, had the audience high with laughter over his sharp verses.
However he is obviously acutely aware of where his more poignant pieces slot into the performance.
Speaking backstage at the interval, he said: "These are the kind of evenings that really bring poetry to life.
"Some people who are not keen on poetry think readings will be boring and sometimes they are right.
"Sometimes they can go over the people’s heads but people need to know how to strike a balance between the funny ones and the serious ones."
He also said despite being renowned for writing for both children and adults, he has no real preference.
He said: "The thing is, when I start a poem, more often than not I won’t have the specific audience in mind.
"It develops along with the poem. Often they can be interchangeable anyway."
On the evening, McGough was supported by musical-poetry group LiTTLe MaCHiNe while Erotic Poetry for Vegetarians and Vegans’ poet Julie Mullen hosted proceedings.
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