The Cool Mum is the inventive new show by Jo Ghastly, a Kiwi mum here to spread the word of “cool parenting”. Jo acts as a translator for the out-of-touch mums and dads in the crowd, a sort of parental anthropologist helping to navigate the pop culture and confusing slang of the younger generations. Jo presents her comedy as a “seminar” for the uncool, complete with a rundown list of each stage of her lessons; a one-hour lecture aimed at making the “cringe af” parents in her audience become “ultra-cool” with a few simple tricks and sarcastic quips. Jo is equal parts deadpan humour and Kiwi charm. Her mild manner is punctuated by several catchphrases and dance moves emblematic of the Gen Z crowd - watching a suburban mum doing a series of dabs followed by a Fortnite dance is nothing short of delightful. Jo does a great job of getting a seemingly reluctant audience in on the fun. At one stage, she gets the whole crowd on their feet to learn how to do a TikTok dance (pretty impressive if you know how shy Adelaide audiences tend to be). She also brings a few participants up on stage to give them the Jo Ghastly treatment. One bewildered father of three gets a makeover with a backward cap and skateboard, his successful transformation celebrated with an air horn. Another father is then encouraged to channel his inner child as Jo shows the correct way to respond to nonsensical teenage boy grunts. Impressively, she steers clear of conventional generational quibbles and avoids shaming younger generations for their quirks. Stereotypes abound, but there is no malice or ridicule in her depictions of youth culture, very refreshing for this subject matter. Her family also makes cameos in a series of “educational” videos, and it’s clear they are a tight-knit group with a shared sense of humour. Cool Mum will delight parents, teenagers and everyone in between, bridging the generational divide one dab at a time. Cool AF! FIVE STARS ***** Reviewed by Justine Hall