We find Te Auaua’s Tapere Nui stage set up for a trade show, with a table full of merch and inspirational quotes projected on to a screen – for example, “You must become the coolness you wish to see in the world.” This is clearly going to be an educational evening.

And then Jo herself appears on stage in her trademark red and white polka dot dress, and the seminar begins. The concept is that Jo Ghastly is here to teach us how to be cool – and in particular cool enough to keep up with any teenagers we may have living at home. 

During the evening, Jo shares her own experience of living with teenage children and offers tips on how to avoid embarrassing them by being ‘cringe’ or ‘lame.’ She holds her examples of teen slang with tongs like a scientific specimen – and that is half the comedy of the night. Jo is seeking to educate us, but it’s clear that she can barely keep up herself! Flossing, pouting and dabs are not enough, and we get the sense they may already be going out of date.

In keeping with the educational concept, Jo invites some audience members on to the stage, and their discomfort becomes part of the story – it’s inherently funny for grownups to pay at being down with the youth. A special shout out to the man who has to role play being a teenage boy with only three possible responses to anything Jo said – it is an excellent performance with severely limited material. And inviting the whole audience to participate at one point gives us an appreciation of the amount of work it takes to perform one of those TikTok dances that look so easy.

The show makes good use of filmed segments – Jo Ghastly has persuaded real teenagers to take part. Observing teenagers as if they were wild animals on a natural history show is a familiar device, but there are some fresh insights that have the audience howling. Throughout the show, Jo Ghastly hits on themes that everyone recognises – and this is rewarded by whoops of recognition or groans of sympathy, depending on the story. Is the audience really cooler after all this?

Having operated her ‘cool-o-meter’ at the start of the evening and again at the end of the show, Jo Ghastly is kind enough to give us the benefit of the doubt at the final reckoning – letting us all leave with a pass mark. We certainly leave with smiles and the buzz of knowing a bit more about the mysterious world of the teen.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer

I saw the advert for the show, Cool Mum, telling me how Jo Ghastly could help parents be more cool. I thought I could do with being a way cooler mum, so log onto Nelson’s virtual Fringe 2020 to watch and learn.

I’ve put the kids to bed and got a glass of rosé to sip on the couch while writing notes. I am looking forward to being a ‘Cool Mum’ by the end of the show!

The show was pre filmed with a small live audience, varied in age range.  There is a lot of laughter and I feel like I am looking in on lots of people having a great time. 

Jo Ghastly’s ‘Cool Mum’, who describes herself as a ‘MILF’, is well dressed and also has a glass of rosé, which she regularly sips throughout the show. The set suggests a seminar is about to take place, complete with a power point screen which Jo uses well to supports her show. Cool Mum is a well rehearsed, slick show with good comic timing.

An experienced stand up comedian, she incorporates audience interaction a lot, mostly with critical comments about how uncool the audience members are.  This stirs my empathetic nature and I worry about the feelings of the audience members being criticised – but they don’t seem to mind. Maybe I would have felt different if I had been in the audience in with them. 

I certainly feel uncool in comparison to Jo, as she rattles off a ‘Cool Mum’ rap, snap chat, Instagram hash tags, Tik Tok dance, and interpretations of teenage slang, which I knew nothing about before tonight.  She did promise I would leave way more cool than when I ‘arrived’, and judges this using a cool-o-meter at the beginning and end of the show.

My favourite joke of the whole show is a scene with her teenage daughter, but with their roles reversed, which is hilarious!  She shows us footage of teenage boy grunts and reveals what they mean.  When I think she has exhausted life as a mum of a teen, she finds new threads, which keep me engaged.

Cool Mum focuses more on what it’s like to be a mother of a teens rather than of younger children.  It is a real eye opener for someone like me who only has young children, showing me what is to come!  Am I cool enough now after watching the show? Only time will tell.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer