Joanna Prendergast, AKA Jo Ghastly moonlights from her day job as a psychiatrist to perform stand-up comedy shows. She got into comedy at age 48, turned a cancer battle into a cartwheel challenge, and is proving there’s really nothing a determined Cool Mum can’t do.

So, tell us what it takes to be a Cool Mum? The most important part of being a Cool Mum is self-declaring that you are a Cool Mum. Being able to dab, floss and rap certainly helps though. My comedy persona Jo Ghastly decided to share her coolness with the world in the comedy show The Cool Mum. The Cool Mum is on in Christchurch one night only, June 17 at Good Times Comedy Club.

Is your Cool Mum status generally accepted in your household? My kids definitely think I’m a Cool Mum. I could tell by my son’s facial expression, when I did ‘the floss’ (while he was playing the video game Fortnite), that I was a truly Cool Mum. My daughter’s friend taught me how to do the dab in 2016 and I have been doing it regularly for my kids and their friends ever since.

Not everybody could turn fighting cancer into a comedy piece – can you tell us a bit about writing and performing your Cancer and Cartwheels show? Finding the humour in my cancer experience has been an important part of my coping with going through treatment. As a psychiatrist, I knew that humour was a great coping mechanism. I wasn’t certain whether doing stand-up about cancer was going to down well though. It was a bit nerve-wracking the first time I tried it a few months ago. After my set, a young couple came up to me saying that they not only found it extremely funny, but also enlightening. Their positive feedback inspired me to keep writing my second show Cancer and Cartwheels.

I’ve called it Cancer and Cartwheels for a couple of reasons. The cancer bit is pretty obvious. Doing a cartwheel normally something signifies a positive mood and fun, but they can also signify the world spiralling out of control. For me, cartwheels had a special meaning because growing-up I was known as the “cartwheel kid”. Cartwheels were my thing. I even did a cartwheel-a-thon for Telethon around 1981.

I was shocked to find that I could no longer do a cartwheel when I tried around Christmas time. I’d recently finished chemotherapy and radiotherapy and my body was so stiff and painful that I felt like I was 90 years old. I tried to do a cartwheel and pretty much fell on the ground. I decided that not only was I going to beat cancer, but I was also going to get back the ability to do a cartwheel.

What made you want to pick up the mic and hit the stage when you did? I first started doing stand-up comedy when I was 48 years old. Stand-up comedy is usually a young person’s game as it requires late nights in bars and clubs and a lot of energy. It's reasonably unusual to pick it up in middle age, especially as a woman.

I’d done a lot of improvised comedy since early this century, both in Sydney and Christchurch. I also started acting in short films, feature films and a few TV roles. It was on a pilot of a TV series that a comedy producer suggested I try stand-up comedy. He was running a competition for first timers and so I decided to give that a go. I didn’t win but I won by having conquered the fear of doing stand-up comedy. I had a great time and some of the material from that very first set is in my The Cool Mum solo show.

How’s the comedy scene in Christchurch? The comedy scene in Christchurch is great. There are several comedy producers who work hard to provide gigs for Christchurch audiences and aspiring comedians. Good Times Comedy Club on St Asaph Street has popped up in the last couple of years and this is a full time comedy club. It provides great opportunities for comedians and there is comedy on there most nights of the week. The Big Laughs Pro Comedy Night on Saturday night is the highlight of the week where people bring their best material and only competent professional comedians are put on the line up. There are also several other producers around Christchurch who run gigs in venues such as Wunderbar in Lyttelton and The Austin Club in the city.

What’s your number one tip for parenting teenagers? In my show The Cool Mum, I hide some real pieces of parenting advice amongst the jokes. The most important thing is that you don’t need to be a perfect parent, just good enough. In fact trying to be a perfect parent can actually do more harm than good. Kids need the rupture and repair of their relationship with their parents to develop resilience to manage the big wide world. If parents are too perfect, then kids get a rude shock when they arrive in the world and life is no longer always easy for them. Every time there was drama and meltdowns with my own kids, I would say to myself, “it's the rupture and repair of relationship with their parents that builds resilience” and that helped me get through that episode.

You’ve got friends coming from out of town. Where do you go and what would you do to show off the city in:

Two hours: Christchurch is a wonderful city and I love showing friends and family from out of town around. I’d probably drive up to the top of the Port Hills to show them the wonderful view in all directions. At the Sign of the Kiwi, you can look back over to Lyttelton Harbour, across to the Southern Alps and the ocean. It's a great way for out-of-towners to see the geography and beauty of Christchurch. I love taking people for a walk around the back of the Sign of the Kiwi to look down on the beauty of Lyttelton Harbour.

A half-day: I’d also take people into town and hang on out on Oxford Terrace. The development there with Riverside Markets and all the bars and restaurants is a wonderful showcase for the beauty of Christchurch and how far it's come since the earthquakes.

24 hours: I love to drive to Castle Hill as I think that’s one of the most beautiful places in Canterbury and a wonderful scenic drive. Alternatively driving around Lyttelton Harbour and going for walks and possibly a swim in Corsair or Cass Bay. In the winter a day up at Mount Hutt or Porters is also a wonderful way to experience the wonders of living in Christchurch.

Where do you go to:

Wine and dine with friends: I love meeting friends for lunch at Sumner on the beach followed by a walk by the sea. The Old Vicarage Café sitting out in the garden is another place I love to meet people for a coffee or lunch. It's a wonderful restaurant with so many different rooms and locations to suit different-sized parties. In the Covid era its big outdoor space is a real bonus.

Blow off some steam: Another favourite place is Little Andromeda Theatre which is upstairs in Oxford Terrace. It's a wonderful location and showcases a range of established and emerging artists in its co-op theatre. The brain child of Michael Bell and Holly Chappell-Eason, Little Andromeda has been a wonderful venue for artists from all around New Zealand and also visiting international artists. They like to programme new works and so it is a different type of theatre experience than you get at The Court Theatre. Letting off a bit of steam by a karaoke night at Good Times Comedy Club is also a fun way to let loose.

Shop up a storm: I try to ban myself from shopping up a storm but the most dangerous shop for me is Annah Stretton. I love her fabrics and flattering clothing. It's one of those shops that I walk into, and I could buy almost everything in the shop and everything looks amazing on. I sometimes ‘accidentally’ pop into the Annah Stretton shop at The Colombo after I’ve been to Black Hairdressing. Black Hairdressing has been amazing supporting me through changes in my hair through chemotherapy. I did something called cold capping to save my hair during chemo and Janine from Black Hairdressing has been great in helping me with various cancer-related hair issues.

Get away from it all: I love living in Christchurch, it's such an incredibly beautiful city and we’re very lucky to have it all here. Where else can you live in the country but still be 20 minutes from a vibrant city? Where else can you go skiing during the day and then walking by the beach in the evening? Ōtautahi Christchurch is where.

joghastly.com