Sexuality, gender and the role of comedy headline Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby’s comedy tour “Nanette,” now presented on Netflix.
Named after a girl Gadsby believed interesting, the hour-long comedy special is a departure from Gadsby’s normal comedy routines, including a “third” part to her story: an ending (Gadsby tells the audience that the difference between a story and a joke is that a story has a beginning, a middle and end, and a joke just has a beginning and middle).
Announcing that she has to quit comedy, Gadsby jokingly comments on receiving “feedback” from members of the lesbian community that her shows do not include enough “lesbian content.” This quickly moves to a conversation on gender-identity and feeling a part of a community.
After an anecdote about someone writing a letter asking her to come out as transgender, Gadsby denounces identifying as such. “I’m clearly gender not-normal, but I don’t even think lesbian is the right identity for me. I might as well come out now,” Gadsby quips. “I identify as tired.”
Gadsby’s heart wrenching anecdotes continue about personal hardships as a woman, a lesbian and a non-gender conforming person. Ending with a demand for the audience to not victimize her and listen to her story, Gadsby insists she remains strong. “There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself,” said Gadsby.
Fans of the special took to Twitter calling it “powerful” and “brilliant.”
Hannah Gadsby dragged humanity and it’s the most powerful thing I’ve seen in years
— Marc (@MarcSnetiker) June 28, 2018
holy shit hannah gadsby’s netflix special just fucked me all the way up pic.twitter.com/3TIhQeNDuq
— Matt Bellassai (@MattBellassai) June 28, 2018
.@Hannahgadsby has always been a marvellous stand-up and she was such a special addition to #PleaseLikeMe. Her Netflix special Nanette is a brilliant artist at their peak (so far) and it’s perfect and you should watch it.
— Josh Thomas 🌈 (@JoshThomas87) June 28, 2018
I can’t stop compulsively telling everyone in earshot to watch @Hannahgadsby‘s new Netflix special Nanette. It should be the very next thing you do.
— Travon Free (@Travon) June 26, 2018
The best part of 2018 is @Hannahgadsby
— kate moennig (@katemoennig) June 30, 2018
Gadsby responded to all the love with her own tweets.
Thanks for all the wonderful messages about Nanette. I am a little overwhelmed, so here is a picture of Douglas expressing my gratitude through the metaphor of a nap. pic.twitter.com/lpnyJx4r0v
— Hannah Gadsby (@Hannahgadsby) June 25, 2018
I am aware that there is a lot of love flowing for Nanette here on Twitter. I honestly don’t know how to handle it. So here is a picture of Douglas and Jasper. pic.twitter.com/ov9R0WXTaI
— Hannah Gadsby (@Hannahgadsby) June 29, 2018
“Hannah Gadsby: Nanette” is now streaming on Netflix. Watch the trailer below.
Screenshot from YouTube.
