THE GENERATION GAP
Space Academy, St Asaph Street, Christchurch
12/09/2019 - 14/09/2019
Production Details
The Generation Gap is an exciting comedy show performed by comedians Jo Ghastly and Ben Kent as part of the Christchurch Comedy Carnival September 12 and 14th.
Ben’s parents are definitely not cool – Can Ben have any hope of coolness? Jo’s kids are definitely cool – is it too late for Jo to be cool?
The Generation Gap – a show about trying to be cool when you are not.
The show is a fun, light-hearted exploration of The Generation Gap from both sides. Suitable for age 13 upwards.
Ben Kent is a rising star of the Christchurch Comedy scene, nominated for Best Newcomer in 2018. He is known for his hilarious character portrayals and wacky observational comedy. He was part of the winning school’s Theatresports team in his youth.
Jo Ghastly is Christchurch Comedy’s coolest Mum. She placed 3rd in the South Island RAW Comedy final 2018 and has twice been comedy Roast Battle champion.
Jo Ghastly is an actor, improviser and comedian. Previous career highlights include being a Canterbury 3ZB cheerleader last century and being typecast on stage and screen as everyone’s bitchy mother. Comedy provides welcome relief from perimenopausal mood swings and the tortures of parenting teenagers.
Jo’s recent acting role’s include the feature film The Stolen and TVs The Adam and Eve Show, and stage performances with Impulse Theatre, Playspace Theatre and No Productions.
“I wish you were my mother” – most comedy gig MCs
“I wish you weren’t my mother”- Jo’s kids
“Beautifully assured on stage – quick thinking, lively and courageous improviser” – Theatreview Dunedin Fringe 2018
The Generation Gap is produced by Jo Ghastly, who has produced comedy shows for Impulse Theatre and Peppered Unicorn for Fringe festivals. Jo is also producing and performing in Old AF during the Comedy Carnival.
The Generation Gap is two shows only-
Door sales will be available for the Thursday show at
Space Academy, 371 St Asaph Street
Thursday 12 September 2019
7.30 pm
or buy tickets from the link below
https://www.facebook.com/events/188963295357438/
The Saturday show has almost completely sold out!
at Darkroom 336 St Asaph Street
Saturday 14 September 2019
6pm
https://www.facebook.com/events/2401706066716135/
Theatre , Comedy ,
Could do with more / could explore more
Review by Erin Harrington 13th Sep 2019
The Generation Gap offers an hour of standup from two local comics: 21-year-old Ben Kent as the opener, and Jo Ghastly, who has just hit 50, as the main event. It’s part of the two-week Comedy Carnival and takes place in the warm, homely space of Space Academy to a near capacity crowd.
The pitch is that that show is about trying to be cool when you’re not, such that an inability to read broader social cues is mined for comedy, and demonstrated to be a universal source of laughs.
Kent is a warm and charming performer. It takes him a little time to become comfortable (which is probably apt, given the show) but once he does he offers some great jokes. The best gags begin from a straightforward observation or proposition then play out into an increasingly absurd scenario. These are often rendered even more unexpected by Kent’s low-key, slightly awkward persona. It’s a pity his set is short; it’s clear that the audience want more of him.
Jo Ghastly is the alter ego of Joanna Prendergast, and played as a well-heeled middle-class ‘cool mum’ who sits on the PTA of a local private girls’ school, and is convinced that she’s down with the kids. Awkward raps about teen slang and anecdotes about monetising her teenaged children’s embarrassments are interspersed with material about getting older, kicking the kids out and hitting menopause.
Prendergast is funniest when she’s chatting with the audience, eyeballing whoever is youngest in the room as she tries to demonstrate her social nous, flicking between sweet smiles and something sharper. The character works the best for me when the smiling façade and deliberate pace is built up, then undermined, as we see when her far less socially acceptable nasty, vulgar and selfish tendencies play out.
I really like Jo Ghastly but every time I see her perform I want Prendergast to lean harder into the character’s complexities; to really dig deep into what is driving her to be the coolest (most awful) mum. There’s so much more here to leverage in terms of the character’s desires and passive aggression, and I’m keen to see how she develops.
The audience is attentive and supportive throughout; they want the performers to succeed, and they leave happy and satisfied.
[Jo Ghastly (Joanna Prendergast), Shen Mansell, Andy Millar and Drop D (Dan Tait) also write and perform OLD AF on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 18 September 7.30 at Space Academy St Asaph Street Christchurch.]
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