Nanette (show)
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''Hannah Gadsby: Nanette'' is a live comedy performance written and performed by Australian comedian
Hannah Gadsby Hannah Gadsby (born 1978) is an Australian comedian, writer, and actress. She began her career in Australia after winning the national final of the Raw Comedy competition for new comedians in 2006. In 2018, her show '' Nanette'' on Netflix wo ...
, which debuted in 2017. The work includes
social commentary Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace ab ...
(especially about
LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...
and women's perspectives, and mental illness), evocative speech punctuated by comedy and emotive narration of Gadsby's life, lessons and what her story offers to the world. In June 2018,
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
released a
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of Gadsby's performance of the work at the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
, directed by Madeleine Parry and John Olb. The special was well-received by critics, winning a
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
as well as Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special at the 2019
Primetime Emmy Awards The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
.


Development

Gadsby created the stand-up show she named ''Nanette'' partly as a response to the public debate which took place in Australia before the law was changed to allow same-sex marriage, and soon after her diagnosis of
ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by excessive amounts of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that are pervasive, impairing in multiple contexts, and otherwise age-inapp ...
and
autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
. The show was originally named after a woman Gadsby had met, who she thought could be turned into an hour's worth of material. During the writing process, she realized this wasn't the case, but the name had already been chosen. She ended up ignoring this inconsistency and wrote an hour of material unrelated to Nanette. The initial shows were more combative with the audience, and made Gadsby feel victimised, so to get the audience more on her side, she added more jokes and relieved more tension throughout the show's run.


Synopsis

Gadsby uses ''Nanette'' to deconstruct the nature of comedy and its conventions by having her audience undergo the same tension in which marginalised people suffer on a daily basis. She shares personal anecdotes related to her experiences as a
lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
and gender-nonconforming woman, explaining how her comedic style is influenced by her identity. Due to Gadsby's upbringing in conservative
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
, she was raised surrounded by people who believed they had licence to hate others, which induced her at a young age to accept prejudiced views towards queer people. To deal with the social inequality she faced, Gadsby says that she turned to self-deprecating humour. She realised that the self-deprecating humour common to standup comedy is doubly painful for marginalised people because it adds another voice to the chorus of people who already insult and belittle them. This led her to conclude that she can no longer do standup comedy and so she structures the piece around claiming she is giving up comedy. In addition to the stories she shares about her lesbian and gender-nonconforming experiences, Gadsby relates personal stories about her comedy career, family, and university experiences among other things. Gadsby expresses the need to use stories in her comedy because she is frustrated with the form of standup comedy. She does not feel as if her story, because her identity and victimisation do not fit comfortably into society's narrative, is being listened to properly. The representation of her story through ''Nanette'' affords Gadsby hope that her experiences will be "felt and understood by individuals with minds of their own," and that her story will finally be heard. Gadsby discusses the mental health of
Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...
. Later, she talks about
Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
's contributions to
Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...
and how she regards him as a
misogynist Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced f ...
artist.


Performances

Gadsby has performed ''Nanette'' throughout Australia, at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
, and in the United States. Her 2018 performances in New York City received positive reviews. The show was performed for the final time on 27 July 2018, in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. On 20 June 2018, Netflix released a film of Gadsby's performance of the work at the Sydney Opera House under the title ''Hannah Gadsby: Nanette''.


Reception

On review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads: "''Hannah Gadsby: Nanette'' brilliantly moves modern comedy into nakedly honest new territory, pivoting from dry humor to raw, powerful storytelling." The performance has been described as a "game changer" for what comedy can achieve and has been called a form of "post comedy." Daniel Fienberg of ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' stated "Hannah Gadsby's ''Nanette'' stands alone...It's a detailed summation of joke construction that could be a textbook on its own. It's an art history lesson. It's hilarious, because Gadsby's timing and perspective fuel every sentence. It's painful, because Gadsby's emotions and perspective fuel every sentence." Ashley Hoffman in ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' listed ''Nanette'' as the Best Stand Up Comedy Special of 2018, and added "''Nanette'' kickstarted a global conversation, ensuring that her underrepresented perspective was finally seen and heard—and when Gadsby wrenches out her pain on stage, she reveals her strength, rage, and yes, winning humor." Anna Leszkiewicz in the ''
New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'' voiced praise for ''Nanette'': "Gadsby's show is a tricksy, self-conscious beast, full of sleight of hand... It is a strange, rare thing: a comedy show that hopes you don't leave laughing." Brian Logan of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' helps to explain the significance and allure of ''Nanette'' by reporting, "Her show is about the power of stories and how, if the stories we tell ourselves are simplified or smoothed over, we leave unchallenged the wider stories society tells itself (in this case, about gender, sexuality and power)."
Helen Razer Helen Razer is a Melbourne-born and Canberra-raised radio presenter and writer. She is the author of four non-fiction books and a columnist with the Australian version of ''The Big Issue'', Melbourne newspaper ''The Age'' and contributor to the m ...
, writing in ''
The Saturday Paper ''The Saturday Paper'' is an Australian weekly newspaper, launched on 1 March 2014 in hard copy, as an online newspaper and in mobile news format. The paper is circulated throughout Australian capital cities and major regional centres. Since ...
'', wrote that ''Nanette'' "is very good...It is a worthy and well-paced specimen of a long-established form." However, Razer also added that she believed some American reviewers of ''Nanette'' had overpraised the show, saying "We cannot say that Gadsby’s ''Nanette'' definitively prescribes a style or ethics of remembering trauma. We can say that it’s pretty good." By contrast, in ''
The Outline ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
'' magazine, P.E. Moskowitz gave ''Nanette'' a negative review, arguing that the special "makes for boring, trite, and even dangerous art: in order to convey her trauma, Gadsby dismisses all of comedy, the uses of queer anger, and the entire premise of self-deprecation as inadequate". Soraya Roberts was also critical of ''Nanette'' in ''
The Baffler ''The Baffler'' is an American magazine of cultural, political, and business analysis. Established in 1988 by editors Thomas Frank and Keith White, it was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, until 2010, when it moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. ...
'' magazine. Roberts stated "In terms of overall quality, ''Nanette'' is mediocre." Roberts took issue with Gadsby's rejection of comedy in the show, saying "Gadsby doesn't bend the medium, she abandons it." Roberts added that other female comedians, such as
Mo’Nique Monique Angela Hicks (née Imes; born December 11, 1967), known professionally as Mo'Nique, is an American stand-up comedian and actress. She has received an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award. Sh ...
and
Maria Bamford Maria Bamford (born September 3, 1970) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Her work has drawn critical acclaim and controversy because her humor often uses self-deprecating and dark topics, including her dysfunctional family, depressio ...
, had made comedy specials about women's oppression without rejecting the act of telling jokes in the process.


Accolades

The show received widespread acclaim, including a 2018
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
.


References


Further reading

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External links

* {{Lesbian feminism Australian comedy television films Australian LGBT-related television shows 2018 films 2010s feminist films Lesbian culture in Australia Lesbian feminist mass media Stand-up comedy concert films LGBT-related television films Sydney Opera House 2018 LGBT-related films 2018 comedy films Netflix specials 2010s English-language films