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Becoming a grandparent isn’t on the horizon for comedian, broadcaster and writer Wendy Harmer. But that hasn’t stopped her from penning a musical celebration of the role of grandparents in our lives, titled The Grandparents Club and starring Home and Away’s Lynne McGranger.
“My wretched daughter, who’s just turned 24, says she’s not having kids ’til she’s 36. Can you believe that? I’ll be 80,” Harmer says with a laugh. “And my son says he’s not having any. So, this is probably as close as I’ll get to being a grandparent.”
Wendy Harmer and John Field, the team behind new Aussie musical The Grandparents Club.Credit: Rhett Wyman
Lyndi Adler and Maree Kirkland-Morris, the creators of the wildly popular Facebook page The Grandparents Club, approached Harmer to write the show, which tours NSW and Victoria from May.
The page, which has more than 77,000 likes and more than 84,000 followers, is a space to share stories and memes about being a grandparent, and provides plenty of fodder for the musical. So too did anthologies about grandparenting, Michael Carr-Gregg’s new book Grandparents, and conversations Harmer had with friends who are grandparents.
“Once you sort of tune in to that world, you start seeing grandparents out with grandchildren everywhere. And that relationship is almost invisible to you as a person who isn’t a grandparent,” says Harmer.
The comedian wrote The Grandparents Club with music director John Field, the composer of musicals including Evie and the Birdman and Who Loves Me?, who is perhaps best known as the songwriter behind The Wiggles’ Hot Potato.
The musical, set in the exclusive RSL-style club of the title, up-ends preconceptions about grandparents, and throws a spotlight on the relationship between them and their grandchildren, through song, dance and stand-up comedy.
Wendy Harmer: not about to become a grandparent.Credit: James Brickwood
It’s a relationship that has arguably become more important over time, with grandparents playing a more central role in family life than ever before. According to a report from the Australian Institute of Family Studies released in 2022, more than one in four grandparents provided childcare to kids aged under 13 at least once a week.