Hannah Gadsby is returning with a new show and tour. Photo / Getty Images
Hannah Gadsby is returning with a new show and tour. Photo / Getty Images
Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby shot to international stardom with her hit stand-up show Nanette, which also became a critically-acclaimed Netflix special.
But in that groundbreaking monologue she went to great pains to explain that she was quitting stand-up comedy because the form depended on a type of self-effacement that she found degrading.
That was in June of 2018 and the deadpan comedian seemed deadly serious about her intentions to back away from a medium that, while affording her a modestly successful career in Australia, had also made her feel complicit in a system that she found oppressive — namely, the patriarchy.
Her show, Nanette, took aim at sexism in everything from art to social etiquette, but towards the end of the monologue she dropped the bombshell that she wasn't just being a picky feminist: she was dealing with a long-buried episode of traumatic sexual abuse.
The monologue, which was possibly the most honest and well-written piece of performance art to explode onto the American cultural landscape last year, seemed both uniquely Australian and perfectly timed for US soil after months of coverage of sexual abuse issues surrounding Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements.
Only Australians knew that Gadsby's "overnight success" was the product of 10 years of solid writing and touring in Australia and at the Edinburgh Fringe festival.
But no sooner had Gadsby's star risen stateside than she announced it would fall.
Gadsby became the flavour of the month and offers poured in, including appearing on a panel for Vanity Fair with Monica Lewisnky.
The American Dream, which Gadsby had previously said was "too hard" and "too much effort", was now within reach.
On Monday, Gadsby told The Hollywood Reporter that she would return to stand-up comedy with her new show, Douglas, which will be her 11th stand-up comedy show and her first-ever real US tour.
Douglas, named after her dog, will premiere in Melbourne (March 27 to April 7) before kicking off the US tour with San Francisco followed by gigs in San Diego, Portland, Denver, Texas, Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Nashville and Los Angeles.
Additional tour dates will be announced later, including performances in New York, Europe, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The tour is expected to take Gadsby through to July this year.
Despite her concern about the inherent nature of stand-up comedy, which depends on a build-up and release of tension via a punchline (and can just as easily become a "punch down"), Gadsby told The Hollywood Reporter why she had decided to not abandon her career after all.
"My whole life and world has changed, so there's no real reason to change absolutely everything. There's a certain amount of comfort in going back on stage in an environment that I'm somewhat familiar with — although it's my first US tour. It's still new", she said.
"After what I did with Nanette, I'm not going backwards; I'm going to keep pushing forwards — and probably upsetting some comedy purists again. We can't please everyone!"
In case you're worried that Douglas will involve more venting against men — not that there's anything wrong with that — Gadbsy assures us that with this new show "the humour will be back in".
"I don't have any intention of workshopping any of my traumas on stage again," she told THR. "That took a toll. And also, I kinda did that. Of course, I can't help but think about serious stuff," said Gadsby, who is currently based in Los Angeles.
"I tend not to try and dwell too much on specifics at this point of the creative process. There's about four hours of show that I'm whittling down. But I'm interested in the dynamics of power and privilege."
When asked to provide more details about the upcoming tour she said, "I'd be interested if anyone has any ideas about how to tour with full tea set. I'm really struggling with the idea that particularly in the US, hotels don't have kettles!"
"This is my most serious consideration of the tour: should I take tea bags — or is that over the top to tour with?"
Yes, it looks like the funny is back in after all.
