Hannah Gadsby makes two promises to her audience:
A) She will recreate a Taylor Swift concert (sort of).
B) Unlike her more typical repertoire, there will be “no woe”.
And with Dogmatic, she delivers.
There are wardrobe changes. Well, a jacket change. There are disco lights and there are videos of her pet dog. Most importantly, there is a lot of storytelling and general hilarity. There are tales of conspiracy theorist bears, frozen corn cob packaging, a panic-inducing day at Disneyland and an unfortunate primary school classmate (the latter of which is only a little bit woeful). The audience responds with belly laughs in abundance.
After a series of weird, wonderful and charmingly confused anecdotes, the show takes a sudden turn. Hannah Gadsby has never been to a Taylor Swift concert. In fact, it’s unclear whether she even listens to TayTay. But this doesn’t stop her from deconstructing the Taylor Swift empire, one glittery brick at a time. She makes the audience laugh uncontrollably as she dissects Swift’s model-populated girl gang, Disney princess aesthetic and double negative-peppered speeches. Here, Hannah Gadsby shines.
Her content transcends the realm of straightforward stand-up and breaks through into deeply thought-provoking territory. Having left the audience with a witty and unexpectedly rousing monologue, she exits the stage, only to return and mutter, eyes to the floor: “No, I won’t do an encore because I’m not a self-indulgent pop star”.
This is sharp, powerful comedy cloaked in natural and slightly self-deprecating charm. No woe here, whatsoever.
Hannah Gadsby Tour Dates
23-28 Feb - Adelaide Fringe Festival4 & 5 March - Canberra Comedy Festival
8-13 March - Brisbane Comedy Festival
22 March - Spiegeltent (Hobart)
24 March - 17 April - Melbourne Comedy Festival
23 April - Perth Comedy Festival
20-22 May - Belvoir (Sydney)
