A practising psychiatrist and author Dr Jo Prendegast is an expert on parenting – particularly when it comes to children. After deciding to start comedy at the age of 48 she decided to create a Fringe show that combined her talents for parenting – and making people laugh. And it’s designed to appeal to all ages.
Tell us about your show. Why should we go and see it?
My debut Fringe show The Cool Mum is a clean comedy show that is really relatable for the whole family; from Gen Zers to Boomers. It’s based on my own parenting experiences and I perform it as parody of a personal development seminar. I turn my parenting disasters into evidence that I am a truely cool mum! It’s a show about family relationships and the quest for ‘coolness’!
Audiences say they love the hilarious video clips in my show which star with my own teens; there’s a role reversal skit with my daughter and an observation of ‘teenagers in the wild ‘with my son and his friends. Another highlight is the fun audience participation bits of the show such as a parent role playing a teenage boy and the ‘Cool Dad make-over’. I give very cool Tshirts to my audience volunteers! My show has Tik Tok dances, cool lingo training and tips for being a ‘social media aware parent’ (aka stalking your kids on Insta). You will leave Lit AF!
The show has been really popular ‘Downunder’ . It won best solo show and audience favourite show at Nelson Fringe and has sold out at NZ and Australian festivals with 5 star reviews. I think UK audiences will love the show too!
I wrote most of the show when I was in the thick of parenting teenagers myself. I definitely used writing comedy as a coping mechanism for the challenges of parenting my kids! I found comedy really helps with processing the hellish moments with teenagers! Tragedy plus time definitely equals comedy!
There are some helpful parenting messages (that I wrote with my psychiatrist /author of a teenage mental health book When Life Sucks ‘hat’ on) included but most of the show is light hearted, ‘don’t try this at home’ silliness. It’s a very funny show!
What makes you laugh?
I tend to laugh at the unexpected! Often, it’s at plot twists, ridiculous silliness or a shock reflex at something totally inappropriate but funny. I’m part of a clown troupe and it might be a silly noise or facial expression that makes me laugh. Often less is more when it comes to laughter. I find a well written clever joke is more likely to make me clap rather than laugh. I clap because I admire the joke writing craft, but it may not make me laugh. Comedy needs to be relatable to a wide audience to get the whole crowd laughing. A niche joke might get a loud laugh from a few people, but leave others confused. Unless you make another joke about how niche that last one was. It’s often the spontaneous, ‘in the moment’ comments that make me laugh.
What three words best describe your performance style – and why?
Dry – my performance style is to say ridiculous things with an earnest, serious expression. I think I got this comedy style from my father. He was constantly teasing people and making up silly stories that he told with a deadpan expression. At my wedding I read a 1950s guide for wives as if it was my personal truth. At my father’s funeral I wrote a hilarious poem which I delivered eulogy style. I think being silly while looking serious is my natural comedy style. I particularly use this style in The Cool Mum. I turn my parenting disasters into evidence that I am a truly cool mum who needs to share my coolness with the world. My stage persona is cluelessly confident!
Relatable – I test all my jokes with a wide range of audiences. Only the only that work almost every time stay in my shows. I think it’s really important for comedy to be relatable. For the references and ideas to make sense to the whole audience; from Gen Zers to Boomers.
Clean – my jokes tend to be clean so they can be told anywhere to any audience. I try to find the silliness in family relationships. There’s a touch of self-deprecation but that’s subverted into my flaws being a positive. There’s a touch of dark humour by finding the silliness in difficult situations. There’s a touch of observational comedy, especially noticing how parents try to be cool to impress their kids. There’s a touch of innuendo that will go over the heads of audience members who don’t know the references. But I try to keep my comedy clean so the whole family (recommended 12 years upwards) can attend my show.
Do you have nerves about going on stage and how do you cope with them.
I don’t usually feel nervous unless it’s a really high stakes performance or a really tough crowd. I tend to be more nervous about my tech setup as I’ve had dramas with AV not working until 5 minutes before the doors open in the past! I try to welcome the audience as they walk into my show, as I’m welcoming them to my personal development ‘coolness’ seminar. I find this helps me get to know the audience and takes the place of crowd work at the beginning of a show.
If I’m part of a lineup and waiting backstage, I do the Superwoman pose, which opens my chest, drops my shoulders and increases my confidence. If I’m feeling nervous as I wait offstage, I do belly breathing, taking breaths deep into my abdomen and making sure I do a long, slow, out breath to calm my nervous system. I also find chatting to other performers backstage helps as it gets me into conversation mode, ready to connect with my audience.
What’s your idea of a perfect Fringe feast and where will you eat it?
I suspect my Fringe feasts will occur in my apartment due to the exchange rate with the New Zealand dollar. It makes most things twice the price they are at home in NZ! I will probably be feasting on avocado on toast 3 meals a day. That’s if I can afford avocados! It might be peanut butter on toast 3 meals a day!
But if any Edinburgh cafes would like to sponsor me (in exchange for Insta stories) I love vegetarian English breakfasts (aka Scottish breakfast in Scotland). A hearty breakfast with eggs, beans, hash browns, tomatoes and mushrooms would set me up well for my 1pm shows at Fringe.
How will your audience think/feel differently after an hour in your company?
During my show I invite two lucky audience members on stage. This usually provides golden moments in the show and great hilarity! Especially for the family members videoing their sacrificial dad on stage! Hint: sit at the front and don’t tell the men in your group that there’s audience participation!
After my show, the audience volunteers will be gazing in delight at their bright red ‘Lit AF’ T shirts with me on the front! Those who sat near the back will be filled with regret that they didn’t get picked for a cool dad makeover (and a free ‘The Cool Mum’ T shirt). The young people will be hoping their parents concentrated hard so they too can be cool mums and dads. The grandparents will be dabbing and flossing their way into impressing their grandkids. My show will change lives!
Seriously though, my show helps parents feel seen and understood. I hope parents pick up a few important parenting messages as well as having a great time at my show!
When did you first realise you were born to be on stage?
My parents would say they realized I was born to be a performer as soon as I could talk. I got way too much attention for my ‘shows’ as a toddler. I’m still trying to replicate the rave reviews and attentive audiences of my pre-school performance era!
I realized that I loved being on stage when I started school. I loved any activities where I was performing to the class. ‘Show and tell’ time was the highlight of my week!
I was cast in a small role as ‘drunk man’ in a friend’s play at primary school and somehow improvised my way into this being a lead role on opening night. Who knew that ‘drunk man’ was the protagonist’s father and that his story was so essential to tell!! My friend forgave me and cast me as the lead character in her next play!
I started taking myself to community theatre auditions as a primary school age child and performed regularly the whole way through high school. At 17 I decided to go to medical school instead of drama school (my bank manager was pleased) but kept performing on the side when I could.
I was a late bloomer as a professional performer. I started performing as my main career in my early 50s, having first tried standup comedy at the age of 48. After spending 30 years focused on a sensible medical career I am now living the dreams I had as a small child; the dream of a career on stage.
Why do you think Edinburgh Fringe is so important to performers and artists around the world?
I think size, stamina and status are the main reasons why Fringe is so important. It’s the biggest festival in the world with the highest number of artists. It’s been a rite of passage for many years for artists from the colonies! There’s definitely high status in New Zealand when you say you’ve been to (and survived) Edinburgh Fringe. It’s also a central location and the entertainment industry light shines on it. It’s an opportunity to be seen and discovered. It’s also an opportunity to see and discover. And an opportunity to test our stamina with a month of shows in a highly competitive atmosphere!
How do you plan to relax and enjoy the city when you’re not performing.
I love the outdoors, so I try and get outside for a walk, swim or horse ride every day. I live beside beautiful Lyttelton Harbour (an ancient volcano) in New Zealand, so my local scenery is breathtaking. I’ve made the outdoors an important part of my daily life. I plan to get to know the nearby natural beauty of Edinburgh like the back of my hand during my month-long stay. Time in ‘green space’ (with trees) and ‘blue space’ (near water) is one of the main things I do for my well-being.
Who is your showbiz idol and why?
I love Miriam Margolyes’s vibe and attitude. She says what she thinks with no apparent filter. This makes her wildly hilarious. She shows the world that older women can be the life and soul of the party (or talk show). I may not agree with everything she says, but I love her approach to life and the ‘don’t care what anyone thinks’ attitude. I would love to be that free and funny! I would also love to meet her when I’m in the UK!
What is your idea of a perfect Fringe moment?
My perfect Fringe moment would be after performing an awesome show with great audience connection then having lovely authentic connection with other artists. This is way more important to me than a great review, or an award, or selling out my show. I love the sense of artist community and supporting each other to have magical moments that can happen at festivals. That’s what life is. A series of moments. Let’s make them magical!
Dr Jo Prendegast, 13.00, Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, until August 25
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/dr-jo-prendergast-the-cool-mum
