Hannah Gadsby: Nanette

You know what's funny? Probable score 63

As transformative as comedy can be. If you wanna call this comedy. Which is just a label. What a gift this is. Let's just call it art. I'm reading other reviews here (from white straight men like me) judging this on the scale of funny vs not funny. I just want to tell you: If that's your coordination system for Nanette, than you weren't listening. And it sucks that we used up words like inspirational or powerful - we could really use them here.

Hannah Gadsby is a gem. This is absolutely her magnum opus. It's a deeply personal piece, but one that resonates with anyone who has ever felt like they didn't fit into the mold the world expected them to. As a queer person who has always used humour as a coping mechanism, this hit home in a way that had me laughing, and then crying my heart out. A story like this is what a lot of misunderstood kids will appreciate hearing. I only hope it has an impact on the way they are treated by others.

Gadsby works in plodding mildness. Her one-woman-show approach and milquetoast persona are as tired and hacky as Judd Apatow's, with a narcoleptic delivery a la Stewart Lee. There are few jokes or premises that haven't been used by funny comedians as filler. Lengthy stretches are intentionally very serious, and as a result, intentionally unfunny. Late in the show she gives up comedy altogether. This special could be mistaken for a long, impassioned TED Talk. Picasso bit's interesting.

I'm not going to pretend Nanette isn't a comedy. or that it isn't a personally felt and boundary-pushing work - it is. But I'm also not going to pretend Nanette is unifying or cathartic, which are fundamental to comedy art. Gadsby rakes us through a vile subculture of perpetual shame and victimhood until, like Lady Macbeth, no one can wash the blood off. I'm simply not sure the approach is honestly healthy, for anyone involved.

Glad to see this riled up some people.

This moved me to ugly sobbing, made me laugh through the tears, broke my heart in a million pieces, and then proceeded to put it back. This is a piece of art that talks about what art is. This is a freakin ode to 'freaks' like me, to everybody who doesn't belong, a call for sensitivity and an uncomfortable mirror to the comedy establishment. It's amazing how many sides there are to this gem. Will rewatch over and over again, because it makes me feel more human and more empathetic.

Not overrated. And considering the buzz at the minute, that’s pretty much the highest compliment I can give.

A few laughs but this is pretty much just preaching-to-the-choir comedy which is not my cup of tea.

Not very funny, but nonetheless, a supremely important piece of stand-up whose influence won't likely be fully-felt for another couple of years. A deeply personal, moving blend of stand-up and story-telling that explores not only the darker parts of our world but the problematic elements of the world of comedy as well.