Nanette was certainly designed as an experimental thought therapy for comedians. Because I’d noticed almost a stupid badge of honor associated with comedians. Like, you’ve got to be wounded, you’ve got to be all these things in order to be this sort of clown situation for the good of humanity. Comedians had this complex where they’re like, ‘We say things that other people don’t dare to’ and I’m like, ‘Have you been on Twitter?’ People dare to say everything. They’re fine. But comedians as a whole aren’t a fine group of people. There’s so much mental health struggle, and I wondered openly if that had to be the case. – Hannah Gadsby, episode 181 on Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
With the release of her new special, Douglas, Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby sits with us this week. We discuss life after the success of Nanette (5:49), how she deals with sensory overload on stage (9:11), why the pandemic hasn’t been so bad for her (11:42), how she was shaped by her mother’s feisty energy (19:47), living in a world where we don’t know how to let go (26:17), being a keen observer (35:34), and whether or not she ever considered quitting stand-up comedy (43:49).
Show-notes:
- Watch Hannah’s new special, Douglas, on Netflix.
- Read Hannah’s full interview with the New York Times here.
- Watch Nanette on Netflix.
- Follow Hannah on Instagram and Twitter
- To learn more about Hannah Gadsby, visit her site.
- Read the transcript of Hannah and Sam’s conversation here.
- Illustrations by: Krishna Shenoi.