Netflix's Hannah Gadsby's Nanette

[Hank Venture]

There's nothing about the structure, the point, the deconstruction of comedy as an artform, or anything else, that means that the first part of ostensible standard self-deprecating stand-up has to be, well, bad. The first part is supposed to set up the larger point made in the second part, but it doesn't have to be bad on purpose, there's nothing about the larger point being made that requires the setup to be hacky and unfunny. I counted one (1) joke that made me go "hah" internally.

[Monsieur Verdoux]

i didn't find the first half 'hacky', just agreeably dry

[mojo filters]

i didn't find the first half 'hacky', just agreeably dry

That's probably a better description. I'm glad I read about it here, as if I'd randomly found it I'd never have got past the first half.

I'd be curious to know if she deliberately toned down the humour, to better suit the unravelling story?

Presumably this was the first show of hers to get so much attention, but was she already a big (ish) name at least on the Australian circuit?

[JCR]

The live version I saw in Edinburgh definitely had a mic drop type ending where she just walked off stage abruptly. Guess her insisting she is done as a comic doesn't make as much sense now as last summer.

[Mass_Panic]

That's probably a better description. I'm glad I read about it here, as if I'd randomly found it I'd never have got past the first half.

I'd be curious to know if she deliberately toned down the humour, to better suit the unravelling story?

Presumably this was the first show of hers to get so much attention, but was she already a big (ish) name at least on the Australian circuit?

Australian standup isn't up to snuff unfortunately (and I say that as an Australian). I always avoided Gadsby's shows because the scene is utterly saturated with her kind of humour. She didn't tone it down, her stand up is mediocre at best and outright bad a lot of the time. I found Nanette interesting because she pretty much acknowledged this - it was as much a criticism of herself as anyone else. The first half was her typical, mediocre stuff - but the second half really did give me a lot of respect for her - even if she's not particularly funny she has a lot of talent in the way she structures things. I don't really know where she will go from here though, her entire career has been built on 'I'm a lesbian with big thighs schtick' and obviously after this show, that's not going to happen any more. She's a very engaging speaker when she gets so passionate, I just don't think she's a particularly funny comedian. I still think very highly of the show.

[newbridge]

I didn't get the point of this, tbh.

[CaledonianGonzo]

I don't really know where she will go from here though, her entire career has been built on 'I'm a lesbian with big thighs schtick' and obviously after this show, that's not going to happen any more.

Her 'entire career'?

She also has a sideline in comedic illustrated lectures about art history, which is apparent in Nanette in the sections about Picasso.  She was due to be doing a new one in Edinburgh in August but cancelled it a couple of weeks back - presumably because Amazion or whoever are throwing her a tonne of money to make a tv series instead.  There's a Radio 4 series in the same vein.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0551t35

As for Australian standup in general, there seems to be no shortage of good ones in Edinburgh every August:  Sam Simmons, Tom Walker, Zoe Coombs Marr, Laura Davis, Sarah Kendall...

[CaledonianGonzo]

The live version I saw in Edinburgh definitely had a mic drop type ending where she just walked off stage abruptly. Guess her insisting she is done as a comic doesn't make as much sense now as last summer.

Also a routine about the titular Nanette, right?

[phantom_power]

I found her performance in the first half so false and mannered (all the stuttering sentences and deliberately placed laughs and pauses) that it affected the impact of the second half for me. It was all so clearly "a performance" that the confessional stuff seemed like a continuation of that. I also disagreed with some of her premises, such as comedy being about tension and release, and the idea that women are only seen as virgins or whores  because that is how they are depicted in paintings.

The Cosby and Weinstein bit seemed a bit shoe-horned in as well, suggesting that we are complicit in their crimes and hindsight being a gift, despite none of us knowing about those crimes until they came to light and fucked their careers. The Woody Allen and Polanski mentions hold a bit more weight as those are a case of separating the art from the artist. The problem is that it is a complex issue that doesn't really get resolved by her sledgehammer assault on them. In the moment it seems quite compelling but afterwards you think "yeah but..."

Overall though it is a worthwhile watch that gave me something to think about, and the one thing I absolutely agree with her on is that life is better seen from as many perspectives as possible and that anger is toxic and understanding is the antidote.

[McFlymo]

She also has a sideline in comedic illustrated lectures about art history, which is apparent in Nanette in the sections about Picasso.  She was due to be doing a new one in Edinburgh in August but cancelled it a couple of weeks back - presumably because Amazion or whoever are throwing her a tonne of money to make a tv series instead.  There's a Radio 4 series in the same vein.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0551t35

Thanks for this. I had been wondering if she had done other comedy, focusing on art history, as I really enjoyed these moments in Nanette.

It's hard to gather my thoughts about this, I was totally emotionally floored (and was bawling my eyes out to the point where I had stopped even noticing I was crying anymore) but what got me so much was how passionately she shared some deeply traumatic personal experiences and still could tap into that anger and articulate her way through it, the way someone might only be able to do after years and years of support and therapy.

I guess I also relate to much of the internalised homophobia stuff and the stuff about how exhausting it is to try and value yourself against this history of IMPORTANT ARTISTS ARE DAMAGED schtick...

But wait, isn't Hannah Gadsby yet another damaged artist using her platform to exclaim how being a damaged artist isn't all it is cracked up to be?

Some of that did irk me slightly, I felt she was being a bit reductive over some points, but her anger, passion, sincerity all felt very real and powerful.

[CaledonianGonzo]

This is the blurb for the follow up live show, which may yet still surface at some point:

https://www.chortle.co.uk/shows/edinburgh_fringe_2018/h/29107/hannah_gadsby_–_no_bones_about_it

[Twed]

Some of that did irk me slightly, I felt she was being a bit reductive over some points, but her anger, passion, sincerity all felt very real and powerful.

This is probably the closest to what I want to say but keep deleting because I'm aware of the irony of being a straight white uninvited critic.

The other thing is that I don't think the "I have to quit comedy" stuff rings true at all. Clearly never her intention, it just sounds dramatic. But perhaps that's part of building tension.

[up_the_hampipe]

https://twitter.com/JenKirkman/status/1014670231720120320

Is Jen Kirkman trying to recommend a special or push some flimsy point that famous male comics are hacks? Either way, this is all very bad marketing for Gadsby.

[Twed]

Jen Kirkman's biggest enemies are people who aren't in Jen Kirkman's social circle or class hierarchy. It's expedient for her that currently this aligns with some popular social causes, and unfortunately that gives people the impression that she's fighting for them.

[Monsieur Verdoux]

Kirkman is a total crank, not worth paying attention to

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I didn't get the point of this, tbh.

I don't get the point of you, tbh.

[newbridge]

I don't get the point of you, tbh.

That's fair but no need to make a Netflix special about it

[Twed]

Netflix's Ballard Berkley's Thundercunt

[13 schoolyards]

The other thing is that I don't think the "I have to quit comedy" stuff rings true at all. Clearly never her intention, it just sounds dramatic. But perhaps that's part of building tension.

She already had a 2018 TV series on the arts lined up for the (Australian) ABC - it's not too far-fetched to assume she'd been doing well enough with her art-related presenting stuff to at least seriously consider giving up comedy, especially as stand-up isn't exactly a gold mine for most performers in Australia.

[jonbob]

It's pretty impressive the way she's airbrushed her work with Andy Muirhead out of the public record. Certainly more impressive than any of her comedy

[The Always Red Society]

It's pretty impressive the way she's airbrushed her work with Andy Muirhead out of the public record. Certainly more impressive than any of her comedy

What utter bullshit.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Fucking furious that the show didn't address the Andy Muirhead situation. Major plot hole.

[Hank Venture]

I posted my criticism of it on Facebook. Can't be arsed copypasting it, so I screencapped it: https://imgur.com/a/MOlhYjk

[Sin Agog]

I'm not sure I can trust the opinion of someone whose battery is already down to 36% at 9.30 in the morning.

[Artemis]

I posted my criticism of it on Facebook. Can't be arsed copypasting it, so I screencapped it: https://imgur.com/a/MOlhYjk

Are you the first cunt or the second one?

[The Always Red Society]

How is Hannah Gadsby terfy? One person's experiences don't invalidate another and I don't see how you'd draw that conclusion. Surely that's s as disingenuous as genuine terfs who think trans people want to erase butch lesbians.

[Ornlu]

I posted my criticism of it on Facebook. Can't be arsed copypasting it, so I screencapped it: https://imgur.com/a/MOlhYjk

Finally somebody said it.

[worldsgreatestsinner]

How is Hannah Gadsby terfy? One person's experiences don't invalidate another and I don't see how you'd draw that conclusion. Surely that's s as disingenuous as genuine terfs who think trans people want to erase butch lesbians.

Yeah, it's either disingenuous or so ridiculously single issue as to be blinded to what the set is actually about. A gay non-fem woman talking openly and honestly about her horrific treatment at the hands of men is dismissed as TERFY now? Absolute bollocks. Dismissing one person's experiences so thoughtlessly does nothing to aid another community.

[An Actual Propeller]

I posted my criticism of it on Facebook. Can't be arsed copypasting it, so I screencapped it: https://imgur.com/a/MOlhYjk

I'm obviously sidetracking here, but how is copying and pasting something more of a faff on than screencapping summit, uploading it to imgur, then typing summit out?

[Utter Shit]

Don't complain, it gives us all a bit of added insulation from the stupidity contained in the post.