Wrong and Broken (FringeTIX)
Hannah Gadsby @ Rhino Room (Downstairs)
6:30pm, Thu 15 Mar 2007
I heard Hannah Gadsby say about three words at the Fringe Launch; for some bizarre reason, she left me with the expectation that she was the female Nick Sun (in the same way Maeve Higgins is the female Andrew McClelland). This turned out to not be the case but, far from being disappointed, I left this show with another comedian on the “see again” list.
Hannah introduces herself very quietly, no real fanfare – in fact, most of her act is dry and unflourished, nearly monotonic. It works very well, and her timing is fantastic. The Subject is broached early – yes, her name is a palindrome, and by the way she’s a lesbian. Occasional “my rubber dick’s thinking for me” jokes, ahoy.
Most of the rest of her act revolves around a story penned when she was seven, Sifon Sofen Meets The Dragon, which she claims was an accurate predictor for her life. And so we follow the trials and tribulations of Sifon Sofen the imaginary red goat; from Hannah’s earliest experiences in small-town Tasmania, hardships through her injury-is-a-lifestyle-choice mother, to her family coming-out events, it was all predicted by little seven-year-old girl.
Or something. There might be a bit of artistic license being used, there. Regardless, it was bloody funny stuff.
Gadsby finishes her act by trying to reclaim her femininity from her dress-like-a-boy-handmedowns Mum by gyrating her shapely hips doing a bit of a pole-dancing routine. Now – this would have just been a good sight gag – if she hadn’t thrown her glasses into the crowd. Thereafter, she was staring empty-eyed and awkwardly in the general direction of the audience, like a freakishly obsessed stalker.
Funny and terrifying – nice :)