Image via MICF
Hannah Gadsby is an extremely sharp comic, and an intelligent person, yet that wasn’t enough for her to avoid a string of bad luck that left her not only unable to pivot, but also having to undergo surgery. Now recovered and armed with a keen sense of her own mortality, she ponders what impression she has left on the world via a series of old photographs, which she uses as a springboard to discuss portraiture and ‘selfies’.
Some comedians take a while to lure you in, but in The Exhibitionist Gadsby has you from the get-go and the laughs literally do not stop until the end. Her wry, self-deprecating humour is its endearing best and she has opted for lighter fare than last year’s Happiness is a Bedside Table, which was extremely personal. Gadsby is ridiculously good at what she does, and the show is hard to fault. The Exhibitionist does ebb and flow, but its ebbs still elicit the kinds of big laughs that a lot of comics can only dream of.
Some might think that this is an extension of Gadsby’s recent ABC show Hannah Gadsby’s OZ, but expect it to be more off-the-cuff that that. Instead, she uses some early portraiture to look at our past obsession with attempting to appear powerful, oh, and ridiculous codpieces. Not going to give anything away, but Vladimir Putin and Justin Bieber are coupled together in a show highlight – and when you don’t think The Exhibitionist could get any better, Gadsby hits you with a finale that elicits tears.
The only issue with Gadsby is that it seems a shame that the whole world doesn’t get to share in her, but they can just back right off. She’s ours!
A fake funeral will never be funnier, don’t miss Gadsby.
Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 stars
The Exhibitionist
Supper Room, Melbourne Town Hall, Swanston St
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
www.comedyfestival.com.au
27 March – 20 April
