Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, two kiwi comedians affected by the cancellations of this year’s festivals are bringing their shows to Dunedin on September 18th and 19th (starting 7pm both nights). Award-winning Christchurch comedian Joanna Prendergast (a.k.a. Jo Ghastly) and Otago favourite Tim Müller have teamed up to present their solo, 1-hour stand up shows to Dunedin audiences at the New Athenaeum Theatre. The shows are to be enjoyed by a wide range of audiences and are recommended for ages 13 and up.

Teaming up was a natural move for the two funny people, who both have day jobs in science (Dr Prendergast is a psychiatrist and Mr Müller is an environmental chemist), and with both shows having family/parenting themes. And of course, they’re both accomplished comedians: Dr Prendergast won Best Solo Show at Nelson Fringe 2020, 3 awards at the 2019 Christchurch Comedy Carnival and came 3rd in the 2018 South Island Raw Comedy Quest, while Mr Müller was nominated for a NZ Comedy Guild Award in 2019 for his work in establishing the Southern Lakes comedy scene. Both have performed in pro shows at New Zealand’s two comedy clubs (The Classic in Auckland and Good Times in Christchurch).

JO GHASTLY IS “THE COOL MUM”

For Dr Prendergast, the silver lining to the cancellation of her show in the NZ International Comedy Festival (NZICF) was more time during lockdown to finish her debut solo show “The Cool Mum”. The show has already sold out twice in Christchurch, as well as Nelson and Queenstown over the last 2 months.

“The Cool Mum” is a parody of a celebrity parenting seminar. Dr Prendergast’s persona, Jo Ghastly, developed from how she thinks her teenage children see her: embarrassing, trying to be cool and failing miserably. It parodies how people believe all sorts of rubbish, just because it’s delivered by a charismatic celebrity. The show features a slide-show including hilarious video skits involving her teenagers, plus audience interaction “educational role-plays”.

TIM MULLER IS “100% HAPPY”

The cancelled Dunedin Fringe Festival was supposed to host the premiere of Central Otago-based Mr Müller’s second solo stand up show (the follow up to “Laugh Now, Google Later” from the 2017 NZ International Comedy Festival). Thanks to coronavirus it debuted even closer to home (in Queenstown and Wānaka), which seems appropriate. While some performers travel the globe in search of inspiration (back when that was legal), Mr Müller found the spark for this show in the kitchen pantry. Specifically, the title and concept for 100% Happy came from a note on a bag of flour, promising a full refund to customers who weren’t “100% happy” with their purchase. Mr Müller was struck by the boldness of the claim: “The best I’ve ever felt about a flour purchase is quietly content.”

While the show started with something trivial, it led down a strange rabbit hole of reflections on everything from parenting and pet ownership to artificial intelligence and the Apocalypse (note: that part was written before the actual Apocalypse happened). Above all though, the show asks what really brings us happiness and fulfilment: love, family, a sense of purpose. “Baking ingredients came surprisingly far down the list”, Mr Müller observed.

Home Page | Culture | Previous Story | Next Story

Copyright (c) Scoop Media