Great Expectations

Hannah Gadsby describes herself as a butch lesbian writer-performer with autism. She came to the world’s attention through her multi-award winning stand up show, Nanette, which played to sold-out houses across the globe before launching on Netflix and stopping the comedy world in its tracks.

The ‘overnight’ success of Hannah Gadsby was actually more than ten years in the making, her award-winning stand up shows a fixture in festivals across Australia and the UK.

Speaking about new show Douglas, the comedian shared, "I just had to do something, and thought best do something know how to do. It’s about a good many things, so it’s equally as ambitious as Nanette. I deconstruct comedy again, but get laughs at the end this time.”

In 2017, Gadsby quietly disclosed that she is living with autism. She was told by a professional that her “brain qualified for membership in Club Spectrum." Psychology Today commented that to see an autistic woman on the world stage, speaking honestly about the autistic experience is unprecedented.

"I talk a lot about autism. Douglas is an attempt to bring people into the way that someone on the spectrum might process the world and how it is different, but instead of telling people directly the whole show is an experience of it.

"I am kind of in a wonderful position where can talk about it, and it’s not how I’m defined. Nanette has shown that the way that think has actual real-world positive effects. I’m not just trying to convince people that the way I think has a purpose and use for people who aren’t on the spectrum. It’s not about just ‘please accept me, please accept who am and marginalise me’. I get to go on stage and go ‘you need me’ and ‘you need people like me’.

"There needs to be neurodiversity."

Gadsby’s diagnosis took quite a few years, and a few misdiagnoses, which she says was a result of several factors. "I think [the diagnosis] could have really happened a little bit earlier, but, you know, I’m from a really isolated place on the earth. I think a lot of it has to do with the lack of research into women with autism. That doesn’t help.

"There are things you cannot do, and the shame around not being able to do things is far worse than actually not being able to do things. Particularly for women on the spectrum, we can’t do things that women are apparently famous for, like multitasking and reading other people’s emotions.

"Just as important is cultural understanding, and broadening the idea of what women are. Outside of the autism, we have such a narrow definition of what female is or what the feminine is or is not and that, in and of itself, is damaging. Also, I’m from a low socio-economic background, so didn’t have the infrastructure that would ordinarily help somebody who is on the spectrum. Money really helps.”

Hannah makes it clear that not being able to read other’s emotions does not mean people living with autism have no empathy. She points out that as a comedian, she uses empathy enormously.

"I know when there’s a room turning before the room knows it’s turning. In a cynical sense, feel like somebody who’s got a platform now, I’m glad I’m not a straight white man because what are you going to talk about? Your point of view is the problem.

"It’s not the individual’s fault; it’s just the structure of the world. It’s like, we’re sick of that story. To be a straight white man in this world is actually not easy. They’ve never been challenged, they’ve been promised the world, and they don’t get that they should never have been promised the world, and now they’re so angry because they have never built up the resilience of disappointment and so they are reactive and toxic.

"There’s a bit of backlash going on against Nanette these days, and was interested in that. In terms of being a queer comedian, it’s just like, ‘oh, there is a critical reaction’, and I’ve never been particularly sensitive to it. [Douglas]was pretty much written as a response to it. I do like to collect the data and say ‘let me spin it around this way’ but I’m giving it a name in this show and calling it ‘hate baiting’ - where basically deconstruct in various ways that push back, particularly, on the straight white male on the internet.

"What will be frustrating for them is they will be used to doing that kind of thing and getting a response off someone not in a position of power. But am in a position of power now so can actually play with it and there’s a sense of fun. What they are saying about me is absolutely irrelevant to who am.

"So they’re attacking all these sorts of things, like my physicality. It’s really easy for me to deconstruct those things really playfully, because did all the heavy lifting in Nanette.”

Hannah brings her show ‘Douglas’ to the Bord Gais Energy Theatre on November 17.

Visit www.bordgaisenergytheatre.ie for information and to get tickets.