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Hannah Gadsby

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Hannah Gadsby
Gadsby in 2013
Born (1978-01-12) 12 January 1978 (age 46)[1]
Smithton, Tasmania, Australia
Medium
  • Stand-up
  • television
  • theatre
NationalityAustralian
Alma materAustralian National University
Years active2006–present
Genres
Subject(s)
WebsiteHannahGadsby.com.au

Hannah Gadsby (born 12 January 1978) is an Australian comedian, writer, actress and television presenter. She rose to prominence after winning the national final of the Raw Comedy competition for new comedians in 2006, and has since toured internationally as well as appearing on television and radio.

In 2018, the release by Netflix of a film version of Gadsby's stand-up show, Nanette, expanded her international audience.

Starting in 2019, she toured the US, Canada, and Australia with her show Douglas.

Early life and education

Gadsby was born and grew up in Smithton, a small town on the remote north-west coast of Tasmania, the youngest of five children.[2][3]

She attended Smithton High School from 1990 to 1995, then moved to Launceston College in year 12, where she suffered a nervous breakdown.[4]

She began tertiary studies at the University of Tasmania in Hobart, but moved to the mainland to attend the Australian National University,[4] where she earned a bachelor's degree in Art History and Curatorship in 2003.[5]

After this she worked in bookshops in Canberra and became a projectionist at an outdoor cinema in Darwin for a while. She then spent two years picking vegetables and planting trees along the east coast of Australia, before she found herself homeless (which she later attributed partly to her ADHD) and ill enough to require hospitalisation.[4]

Career

Stand-up

Further information: Live shows below

It was on a visit to her sister in Adelaide in 2006 when Gadsby entered Raw Comedy in 2006, progressing through the heats to win the national prize.[4] As the winner, she was sent to the So You Think You're Funny? competition at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where she won second prize.[6] From that point on, she performed stand-up shows at festivals around Australia, such as the Adelaide Fringe, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and Sydney Comedy Festival.

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 also after her diagnosis of ADHD and autism, in a performance described as ground-breaking.[7] In 2018, Netflix released the film version of Nanette, which brought her to the attention of international audiences.[8][9] On Rotten Tomatoes, Nanette received an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from 46 critics.[10]

In March 2019, Gadsby previewed her new show, Douglas, in Adelaide,[11] before touring the U.S. and Australia, where many shows were sold out in advance.[12] In the show, she explores new personal revelations "with empathy, wit and some extremely relatable metaphor", and creates something "bigger than comedy" according to one reviewer of the preview show.[13] Gadsby says that she doesn't care what people call the show,[14] aiming at men who complained on social media that Nanette was "not comedy but a lecture".[15] In May 2019, Gadsby announced that Douglas will be released on Netflix in 2020.[16]

TV roles

Further information: Filmography below

Gadsby co-wrote and co-starred in the Australian ABC TV show Adam Hills Tonight through three seasons from February 2011 to July 2013. She had regular segments called "On This Day" and "Hannah Has A Go" and also featured on the couch, contributing as host Adam Hills interviewed his guests.[17][18]

She co-wrote (with Matthew Bate) and presented a three-part series on ABC, Hannah Gadsby's Oz, which aired in March 2014.[19] Produced by Closer Productions, this series set out to "debunk the myths of the Australian identity perpetuated by [its] national art".[20]

She co-wrote 20 episodes of fellow comedian Josh Thomas' series Please Like Me (2013-2016) and featured as Hannah, a fictional version of herself.[21]

Guest appearances

Gadsby has appeared as a guest on numerous TV shows in Australia and elsewhere, including Rove Live (2009), Good News Week (2009),[22] Spicks and Specks (2010),[17] Agony (2012-2014), QI (2018), The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (2018, 2020),[21] and TV3's game show, 7 Days.[23] She was a presenter at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2018, presenting the award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.

Gadsby was also a guest on Conan O'Brien's podcast Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend in 2019.[24]

Between 2009 and 2013, Gadsby presented comedy art tours in conjunction with the National Gallery of Victoria, with themes such as paintings of the Holy Virgin, Dadaism, Modernism, Impressionism and the nude in art. She has given talks on art and opened exhibitions.[25]

Gadsby has written and presented two documentary specials for the Artscape program on ABC TV: Hannah Gadsby Goes Domestic (2010)[26] and The NGV Story (2011.)[27]

Hannah Gadsby's Oz (see above) was art-related.[19]

In 2015, she wrote and performed Hannah Gadsby: Arts Clown, a series for BBC Radio 4 based on her comedy art shows.[28]

Personal life

Gadsby is openly lesbian, and often includes lesbian content and references to her sexuality in her stand-up routines.[2][29]

She was diagnosed with ADHD and autism in 2017.[4][7][30][31] She refers to her autism in her 2019 show Douglas in a way aimed to help people understand neurodiversity as part of a normal variation of the human condition.[14][15]

Gadsby is an active supporter of various charities. Organizations she has assisted include Big Brothers Big Sisters of Melbourne, Edmund Rice Camps of Victoria, and the Sacred Heart Mission.[32][33] She has performed on The Breast Darn Show in Town twice.[21]

Live shows

Filmography (TV)

Writer and performer

  • 2011: Hannah Gadsby: Kiss Me Quick, I'm Full of Jubes (series 1, ep. 1 of Warehouse Comedy Festival series of live stand-up performances)
  • 2012–2013: Adam Hills Tonight (series – co-writer and presenter in 22 episodes)
  • 2013: Hannah Gadsby: Mrs Chuckles (series 2, ep. 9 of Warehouse Comedy Festival series)
  • 2014: Hannah Gadsby's Oz (documentary mini-series)
  • 2014–2016: Please Like Me (sitcom series – co-writer and actor in 22 episodes)
  • 2015: Hannah Gadsby: Renaissance Woman (documentary mini-series) – also producer[36]
  • 2018: Hannah Gadsby's Nakedy Nudes (documentary mini-series)
  • 2018: Hannah Gadsby: Nanette (film of live stand-up)
  • 2020: Hannah Gadsby: Douglas (film of live stand-up)

Actor

Works and publications

  • Gadsby, Hannah (2018). Ten Steps to Nanette. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-742-37403-1. OCLC 1014018703.

Awards

References

  1. ^ "Today's Birthday 12/1- Hannah Gadsby". This is Money. Australian Associated Press. 11 January 2019. Archived from the original on 15 January 2019.
  2. ^ a b Low, Lenny Ann (12 February 2011). "The great Gadsby". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  3. ^ Mickel, Andrew (10 November 2011). "Hannah Gadsby interview: I talk about my shows like they're ships". Such Small Portions. Archived from the original on 7 May 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Wright, Tony (30 June 2017). "Why Hannah Gadsby is retiring from comedy after 'Nanette'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Graduate search". Australian National University. 12 November 2014.
  6. ^ Hannah Gadsby, SYTYF, 2006 on YouTube
  7. ^ a b "Hannah Gadsby BA '03". Australian National University. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  8. ^ Zinoman, Jason (19 March 2018). "Introducing a Major New Voice in Comedy (Who Also Attacks Comedy)". The New York Times.
  9. ^ Logan, Brian (19 August 2017). "Hannah Gadsby review – electrifying farewell to standup". The Guardian.
  10. ^ "Hannah Gadsby: Nanette". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  11. ^ Marsh, Walter (7 February 2019). "Hannah Gadsby to preview new live show 'Douglas' in Adelaide". Adelaide Review. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Hannah Gadsby:Douglas". Hannah Gadsby. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  13. ^ Marsh, Walter (25 March 2019). "Review: Hannah Gadsby's Douglas". Adelaide Review. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  14. ^ a b Peard, Anne-Marie (29 March 2019). "Hannah Gadsby: Douglas review". Time Out Melbourne. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  15. ^ a b Valentish, Jenny (29 March 2019). "Hannah Gadsby: Douglas review – comedian brings laughs but retains edge in Nanette follow-up". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
  16. ^ "Netflix Orders Hannah Gadsby's New Stand-up Special 'Douglas'" (Press release). Netflix. 13 May 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Adam Hills Tonight". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 4 June 2013.
  18. ^ "Adam Hills calls it quits from ABC series Adam Hills Tonight". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australian Associated Press. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  19. ^ a b "Hannah Gadsby's OZ". ABC iview. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  20. ^ "Hannah Gadsby's Oz". Closer Productions. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  21. ^ a b c Hannah Gadsby at IMDb
  22. ^ Good News Week 2009.10.26 - S07E32 on YouTube
  23. ^ "Famous Faces - Hannah Gadsby". Smithton High School. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  24. ^ "Hannah Gadsby". Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend. Episode 29. Earwolf. 2 June 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  25. ^ Northover, Kylie (20 March 2013). "Reclining nudes get stand-up treatment". The Age.
  26. ^ "Artscape – Hannah Gadsby Goes Domestic". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 July 2010. Archived from the original on 24 November 2012.
  27. ^ "Hannah Gadsby: The NGV Story". Screen Australia. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  28. ^ "Hannah Gadsby: Arts Clown". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  29. ^ "Hannah Gadsby: Comedy Festival Review". TVNZ. 10 November 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
  30. ^ Nussbaum, Emily (15 June 2018). "The Comedian Hannah Gadsby Goes Big Time, and Renounces Comedy" (Audio podcast interview). The New Yorker Radio Hour.
  31. ^ Devaney, Susan (17 July 2018). "Nanette's Hannah Gadsby reveals how autism diagnosis transformed her". Stylist. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  32. ^ "In Stitches for Kids Charity Comedy". Jolly People. 14 July 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  33. ^ "Chisholm & Gamon Support the Heart of St Kilda Concert". Archived from the original on 16 May 2013.
  34. ^ Kissane, Ash (1 March 2012). "An Interview With Hannah Gadsby". Moustache Magazine. Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2013.
  35. ^ Marshall Macbeth, Suzannah (9 April 2013). "Hannah Gadsby in Happiness is a Bedside Table". Crikey. Retrieved 14 May 2017.
  36. ^ "WATCH: Hannah Gadsby as the Renaissance Woman". Daily Review. 22 December 2015.
  37. ^ "Hannah Gadsby". IMDb.
  38. ^ "Edinburgh Fringe Festival: Hannah Gadsby named joint winner of Comedy Award". ABC News. Australian Associated Press. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  39. ^ "Entertainment & Children's Winners Named". 18 April 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2019.
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