CANBERRA-born musical comedy star, Queenie van de Zandt, has been simultaneously appalling and amusing us for years with her cult-character ‘Jan van de Stool, International Musical Therapist,’ last seen here when she launched the 2016 season at The Q.

Now the dreadful Jan (what must van de Zandt’s Dutch-born parents think?) has burst into Australian homes around the country with her appearances on ‘Australia’s Got Talent’ performing scripts co-written by another famous fellow former Canberran, Peter J Casey—and she’ll be in the semi-finals this weekend.

Van de Zandt has known Casey since the 80s when they both went to Daramalan College and after making their professional debuts as the School of Arts Cafe, they’ve been friends and collaborators on various projects ever since.

Together they wrote the comedy character recently dubbed as ‘Australia’s funniest housewife’ after blitzing her audition for Australia’s Got Talent. The straight-talking, Netherlands -born musical therapist is best now for her show, “I Get the Music in You.” Like the later Spike Milligan, she claims to operate in Woy Woy NSW, where she says her courses have helped “tens of people” realise themselves.

While van de Stool came to prominence for her ‘The Voice Vlogs with van de Stool’, a web series satirising “The Voice” in 2013, the real-life van de Zandt has starred in musical shows such as “ Into the Woods”, “King Kong”, and “The Full Monty.”