Hannah Gadsby’s Netflix show’Nanette’ is warming queer hearts
Netflix fans have been praising a new comedy show produced by the streaming service named ‘Nanette.’
The show is performed by Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby, who uses her platform to announce a change in her style of comedy.
“Do you know what self-deprecation means coming from somebody who exists on the margins?” she asks. “It’s not humility. It’s humiliation. I put myself down in order to speak. In order to seek permission to speak. And I simply will not do that anymore. Not to myself or anyone who identifies as me. And if that means that my comedy career is over, then so be it,” she says.
Hannah Gadsby (Credit: Netflix)
Gadbsy uses the show in an autobiographical way, chronicling her awkward experiences as a gay woman throughout her years.
Born in Tasmania, a rural island off the coast of Australia, Gadsby realised she was gay amidst sea of Tasmanians who believed it should be a criminal offence.
The comedian also used her platform to joke about the first time she saw “our people” at Sydney Mardi Gras, and how she was shocked about the the loudness of pride, “what about the quiet gays?” she asked.
The comedy special has received widespread reviews with the New Yorker saying the show “harnessed the broader fury of the #MeToo moment” and that Gadsby is finished “hiding her anger.”
While The Atlantic said: “The grist for her show, though, is her art. Here, it melds stand-up and storytelling in a way that makes Nanette one of the most extraordinary comedy specials in recent memory.”
The Guardian was also full of praise, in an opinion article Jane Howard wrote: “Standup is, at its core, about an understanding of the power of shared space. Nanette takes that shared space and bursts it open.”
Daniel Fienberg, a television critic for The Hollywood Reporter, tweeted about the show and said: “Netflix has a LOT of stand-up specials. Some quite good. Most are indistinct. We need the volume and variety so that when something like Hannah Gadsby’s “Nanette” comes along you can say, “Oh. THAT is special.”
Lovers of the show included Hollywood actress Ellen Page.
Holy shit #Nanette is extraordinary. Blown away by @Hannahgadsby @netflix
— Elliot Page (@TheElliotPage) June 25, 2018
Responding to the response to her show, Gadsby tweeted a picture of her dog and said: “I am a little overwhelmed, so here is a picture of Douglas expressing my gratitude through the metaphor of a nap.”
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
