Gift of the Gad
Those familiar with the laidback, sarcastic stylings of Hannah Gadsby might be surprised to learn that the openly gay comedian hadn’t actually performed her own solo stand-up show until this year. Her first show Kiss Me Quick, I’m Full Of Jubes makes its Sydney debut next month.
Gadsby told the Star she was still getting her head around the new format.
It’s a different beast than just doing little spots here and there -” it’s kind of hard to believe that anyone would want to listen to you for an hour. But once you get used to the fact that no one else is coming on, it’s fun, she said.
Gadbsy considers herself an accidental comedian, having entered the stand-up stream fairly recently.
I haven’t been a massive follower of comedy. I got entered into the Raw Comedy competition a couple of years ago by a friend and ended up winning it. From there, it really just snowballed.
The snowball has taken Gadsby to the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal and seen her meet with producers in LA, one of whom expressed interest in incubating her, a proposition which had her running as fast as she could in the opposite direction. For now, she’s happy touring her first proper show: one which deals with her somewhat dysfunctional upbringing in hilarious detail.
It’s a lot about my mother, and the fact that I’m accident-prone and she has a pathological fear of doctors. My mum’s just a fantastic comic character without even trying, so it made sense to drag her into the show, she said.
Gadbsy also talks about her mother’s difficulty in dealing with her daughter’s sexuality.
She wasn’t homophobic -” she was more ignorant, and preferred not to deal with it. But in the end, she’s been fabulous.
For Gadsby, there was never a question of not speaking frankly about her sexuality in her stand-up.
I came to stand-up quite late. I was 28, so I was already comfortable with who I am. I didn’t think it was necessary to pretend otherwise. My comedy’s very honest, so it makes sense to be honest about that part of my life.
info: Kiss Me Quick, I’m Full of Jubes plays the Factory Theatre, Enmore, May 5-7. Tickets: ticketek.com.au
