PERFORMANCE
Leaving It All on the Stage
Hannah Gadsby traverses winding routes to her comedy
BY KELSY CHAUVIN
Pressing out humor from
heartache is a specialty
of only the most advanced
storytellers. And it’s a
trademark of Hannah Gadsby.
In her Off-Broadway solo show
“Douglas,” in New York through
September 14, Gadsby’s personal
stories take many winding routes
to humor. She covers intimate subject
matter, like her autism diagnosis
and an awkward sexual incident.
But she also explores grand
topics like Americans’ self-obsession
and the overlooked reality
of male hormonal cycles. Despite
each topic seeming at fi rst to offer
few punchlines, each of her tales
leads, thankfully, to laughter.
It’s all part of Gadsby’s atypical
approach to storytelling/ stand-up
/monologuing/ lecturing. Her art
defi es singular classifi cation, while
advancing the possibilities of comedy
in general.
Upon entering the Daryl Roth
Theatre, the fi rst sign you’re in for
something different are the ushers
adamantly reminding you to power
off your phone, after which they
lock it in a neoprene bag sealed
with a magnet. (At the show’s end,
unlocking the bag takes just a
moment.) With that separation of
show and cell service, Gadsby has
mandated full attention to her delicately
crafted performance.
We’re also informed upon entry
that the show is about one hour
and 45 minutes long, with no intermission.
People may raise eyebrows
at this, wondering if that
timeline is an exaggeration for a
solo show. It is not, and the time
whisks by.
During her nearly two-hour set,
Gadsby is riveting and remarkable
in the most glorious ways. After
some pleasant salutations and giggles,
she minces no words about
why she — and all the rest of us
— are probably there. It feels momentarily
awkward to recognize
that her 2018 Netfl ix special “Nanette”
is the sole reason many of us
became fans, since it’s clear that
we should’ve been well acquainted
Hannah Gadsby’s comedy is challenging and also riveting and remarkable.
with Gadsby’s gorgeous mind long
before that.
Through her uniquely direct
style, Gadsby maintains clear
messages. Many of them serve to
reinforce her work as it exists outside
any pre-established comedy
mold. She declared as much in a
2017 tweet: “I’LL SETTLE THIS:
My show is NOT stand-up comedy
because I got jack of an art form
designed by men for men. Female
artists often defy genre.
On stage, Gadsby covers a sophisticated
slate of topics. What’s
most uncommon is that she lists
them as a sort of table of contents
at the top of the show, going to so
far as to tell us how we’ll respond
to each theme (usually with laughter,
sometimes with hesitation). It’s
her way of delivering meta humor,
“adding layers to your mirth cake,”
she predicts.
She makes us aware that, as
an American audience, we will be
ribbed, but to “not invest” in each
joke since it’s all in good fun. It’s a
little like getting a wry reprimand
you know you deserved. (One can
only wonder how sharp the American
JILL GREENBERG
ribbing must be when she performs
abroad. As she says in her
Australian accent, “That’s a thing
you Americans don’t know: Other
cultures reference themselves
without consulting you fi rst.”)
From her opening list, we know
also that she’ll unpack some backstory
about her autism that’s honest
and enlightening. She’ll take us
into her doctor’s offi ce to segue into
women’s emotional stereotypes and
the lack of attention to men’s emotions.
Then we slink into her boudoir
for, believe it or not, a lesson on
the inconvenient ways autism can
make her mind work, especially in
a session of dirty talk.
Through Gadsby’s distinct genius,
each of these seemingly solemn
vignettes is sprinkled with
laughs. They are what keep our
ears unfl inchingly attuned to every
word.
As in “Nanette,” Gadsby’s most
nuanced critiques center around
the patriarchy and the “skidmark
of misogyny.” They’re actually tied
to the show’s title. Yes “Douglas” is
the name of her dog; but it’s also the
name of a female body part most of
us never even knew existed.
One big highlight of the show is a
byproduct of her art history background.
Armed with an on-stage
projection screen, Gadsby schools
the audience on Renaissance-era
works and artists. It’s an entertaining
lecture, all the while proving
how institutionalized misogyny
spans centuries of female depictions.
In turn, those “great” works
of art have defi ned women’s roles
from mother to muse to sex object,
she notes — but in a fun way!
Gadsby’s bluntness about men’s
privilege and predetermined power
are the words many of us long to
hear — including many of the fellows
fi lling the theater’s seats.
Yet at the end of this reviewer’s
show, Gadsby’s notion of a meta experience
came alive on this very issue.
As we exited, I joined audience
members in the queue to snappily
reopen our sealed cell-phone bags.
I was impressed that it seemed
each person obeyed the request to
have their phones locked up, a sign
of respect for Hannah Gadsby.
Then I saw one tall, white, welldressed
man already on his lit-up
phone, scrolling through emails.
We’d just heard Gadsby speak at
length about male privilege, and
here was this man proving her
point, unabashedly demonstrating
his own entitlement to do as he
pleases.
Yes, Gadsby’s gift is laying out
truth for eager ears, even if she’s
preaching to the choir. Her greater
challenge, however, might be getting
those who think they don’t
need her truth to actually listen.
HANNAH GADSBY’S “DOUGLAS”
| Daryl Roth Theatre, 101 E. 15th
St. at Union Sq. E. | Through Sept.
14: Tue.-Fri. at 8 p.m., Sat. at 6 p.m.
& 9 p.m. | Tickets start at $65.50-
$227 at ticketmaster.com or 800-
745-3000 | One hr., 50 mins., with
no intermission |
Kelsy Chauvin is a writer and photographer
based in Brooklyn, specializing
in travel, culture, and LGBTQ
interests. Follow her on Twitter
and Instagram @kelsycc.
August 29 - September 11, 30 2019 | GayCityNews.com
/ticketmaster.com
/GayCityNews.com
