- Speaking at a conference, Mary had the audience in fits of laughter with her opening joke
- Loving the feeling, she began doing more speeches
- Then she tried her hand as a stand-up comedian and something incredible happened
- Here, Mary Glaisyer, 77, from Nelson, NZ, shares her inspiring story about how her life has changed
I smiled at my audience who sat patiently waiting for me to begin.
“Did you see the restaurant downstairs is called Sepia?” I asked them.
Right on cue, the 150 people sat in front of me fell about laughing.
It was 2005, and I was presenting at a homoeopathic conference in Christchurch.
I’d been asked to talk about interesting cases from my practice.
I thought it would be rather fun to start off my presentation with a joke because I thought the rest of my talk might be a bit boring.
Unless you’re a homoeopath, the punchline would be lost on you, but for everyone in front of me it landed perfectly.
I loved the feeling their laughter gave me, so at future conferences I volunteered to be part of the evening entertainment and tell a few more jokes.
A natural comedian
At one conference, my friend Helen approached me.
“You’re a natural up there,” she said. “You should think about doing stand up.”
I thought about it but it wasn’t until October 2019, when I spotted an article in a local paper about an event called Backroom Comedy, that I decided to do something about it.
The event was held once a month at the Liquid Bar in Nelson.
On the night, I sat in the corner in my op-shop mac, trying to look inconspicuous – but at 74 I was easily the oldest person there.
I’d also gone on my own.
Most of the performers were men, in their 30s and 40s, but when a woman in her 60s, Diane van der Velden, stood up to do a set, it lit a fire inside me.
I can do that, I thought.
Afterwards I approached her.
“I was thinking of having a go,” I admitted.
“You should!” she encouraged. “My son Dave runs these nights, I’ll introduce you.”
We went over and spoke to him, and he booked me in for the following month.
“See you then,” I said.
The big night
When the night came, surprisingly, I wasn’t nervous at all.
I was used to public speaking.
I performed a 10-minute set from things I’d jotted down about people my age and it was very well received.
“You did great!” Dave said afterwards.
Over the next couple of months, I did a few more sets at the Liquid Bar and then I felt like I had enough material to put on my own show.
My friend Helen, who is an actor and singer, agreed to be my MC.
My neighbour Virginia came along to play the piano and my show Life’s Absurdities and Other Stories at Fairfield House sold out.
I then applied to perform at the Nelson Fringe Festival and was accepted.
After that, I took the show further afield to Takaka and I have no plans to stop there.
Most of my audience are older, as much of my material pokes fun at life at my age, but I love it when younger folk come to my shows, too.
Humour has no age limit.
In 2023, I did a show in Christchurch and afterwards a young bloke, around 17, came up to me.
“I only came to give my mum a treat for her birthday but I loved it,” he said.
It was the biggest compliment.
My husband John, 82, sells my merch in the foyer – handmade dishcloths and little knitted pigs with hats on that I make myself.
My two children, who are in their 50s and my four grandchildren, ranging from 10 to 15, all think it’s very cool.
I hope to be doing stand up for at least another 15 years.
I’m proof you’re never too old to learn something new.
