Hannah Gadsby: Douglas

Oh I so am in love with this! I saw you on The Project the other night and questioning how you could follow up from Nanette. Well you have done it perfectly - when someone is authentic, honest and open, how could you ever not love them. Thank you for mixing this with such a much needed/appreciated honest voice, with vulnerability and perfect humour. If you didn't have a box, I would say I would want to love you more !!! #preferdonatello ;) I

Stunningly intelligent and witty. At times my tears of laughter were uncontrollable. This woman is superb.

Gadsby's second special, after the global success of 'Nanette'. The intro of this show is one of the best I've seen in years, where we are presented with the whole structure of the bits, the subjects and the timings, without spoiling the experience until the end. It addresses feminism, misogyny, the best bit about the Renaissance that I remember, ever, and other themes sensitive to the American people, to which Gadsby addresses this special. Hannah Gadsby is one of the best examples that women deserve the place and freedom when it comes to the world of comedy, especially stand-up.

I think it's really hit or miss depending on who you are. I quite liked it, not as good as Nanette though. Definitely skip the first 14 minutes where she just explains what the show is going to be. I didn't get that at all. There were a few laughs during that section, but not worth sitting through an explanation of what you're literally about to watch. I just love Hannah Gadsby though, and I think part of that is a relatability. I find her relatable, so I think I'm going to automatically just like her more. She isn't your typical comedian, but I think she does serve a more niche audience of people.

Nanette was obviously a huge deal when it came out- I remember the hype and a family member eventually convincing me to watch it, but to go in knowing as little as possible. I'm glad I followed that advice, because it was a very surprising stand-up performance; in a good way, of course. The people who criticise it for not being consistently funny are technically right, but it had a whole lot more to offer, and its power came from the fact that it wasn't obviously heading in the direction that it did go in.

Following up one of the best Netflix standup specials (I'd say if not for Bo Burnham's Make Happy and What, Nanette would be the best standup special produced by the platform) wouldn't have been easy, but I really liked Gadsby's approach here. She gets quite meta right off the bat, and the direct delivery makes sense when it becomes apparent quite early on that the show is going to be at least partly about her experiences with autism. It's interesting and eye-opening without being as heavy as the themes touched upon in Nanette.

That last point is both a strength and maybe a weakness, which is acknowledged as much by Gadsby in her opening breakdown of the proceeding routine, stating that she "used up" most of her trauma in Nanette, in a way. As a result, Douglas contains more laughs but probably won't stick with viewers quite as much as her first special.

I'd ultimately say they're both very strong though, just in their own ways. If anything, this proves Gadsby is far from a one-trick pony, and doesn't need to rely on pulling the same genius move she did in Nanette by going from standup comedy to borderline standup tragedy, which would be a whole lot less genius if repeated. The reliance on humour shouldn't suggest that the show is too much weaker though, because Gadsby has a unique and genuinely funny way of talking about things, which really makes her stand out from the crowd of comedians using Netflix as their primary platform.

(It's also cool to see someone from Australia make it big in the standup world, but that's just a person bias on my end due to also being Australian.)