The Exhibitionist

The Exhibitionist
Hannah Gadsby. Brisbane Comedy Festival. 25 February - 23 March 2014.

Hannah Gadsby was boisterously welcomed to the stage by the almost full house. These pundits in a twenties to forties age bracket clearly know her talent and style; they had their laughing gear ready and she gave them material

She began by apologising for her limp. She’d twisted her knee and proceeded to describe the circumstances to more laughter than sympathy. Her usual shtick that she is accident-prone and a hypochondriac were familiar comedy territory for the fans. She segued neatly to her new topic, selfies and their forerunner, family pics we all keep, as well as the grand formal portraits from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.

With remarkably honest self-deprecation she assessed a host of professional shots she had taken to select a new image for the current show. We laughed with her, acknowledging how we assess our own photos except, perhaps, that we don’t focus so sharply that we can dismiss them with one comic word or phrase. The success of this act depends heavily on Hannah’s careful selection of images and the timing that matches precisely her comedy patter.

Laughter, they say, uplifts the spirits. You’ll come out of this show happier than when you went in. But I’ll bet you’ll have a niggle in your mind about so many awful pictures in your own albums.

Jay McKee 

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