Hannah Gadsby's New Show WOOF! Started Out as a Barbra Streisand Tribute | 半岛体育

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Special Features Hannah Gadsby's New Show WOOF! Started Out as a Barbra Streisand Tribute

The Emmy-winning comedian about their newest comedy show, now playing Off-Broadway, which is not about dogs.

Hannah Gadsby in Woof! David Urbanke

If you're a comedy fan, you probably know Emmy Award winner Hannah Gadsby from their comedy specials Nanette and Douglas, both of which streamed on Netflix after stage runs. And now Gadsby is back with a new show, WOOF!, which opened at Off-Broadway's Abron Arts Center October 6 following runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Austin, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, and other cities. The show is directed by Gadsby's spouse Jenney Shamash, and produced by Mike Lavoie and Carlee Briglia.

Running through October 27, WOOF! is mostly about Gadsby's experience processing grief following the death of their father鈥攐r perhaps their failed attempts at avoiding that. But as it turns out, the show didn't fully get that focus until not that long ago, shortly before the Off-Broadway run began. 半岛体育 recently caught up with Gadsby to chat about how WOOF! went from being a show about a dog, to a diva, to, now, their father. 

The conversation below has been edited for length and clarity.

Where did you get the title for this newest show, WOOF!?
Hannah Gadsby: 
Originally, the show had a lot of dog content in it, as is my wont, because my dog died at the beginning of last year. There was a sort of double grief going on there. But then I let the dog go, so now it鈥檚 cold war. We don鈥檛 know why. We don鈥檛 need to know why. I do think it鈥檚 also a satisfying exclamation for the world.

The show has a lot about you grieving your dad. How has doing this show helped you with that process?
I think it鈥檚 been good. My avoidance has really shaped the show. I thought that I was going to do a portrait of my dad, and then I got locked into a different show. The show has pretty much done what it wants to do, as opposed to me imposing my ideas on it. I鈥檓 really fond of this show, or at least I have a different relationship with this show than I do my other ones, where I felt like I was in real control. This one has become its own beast, and I quite like that. It keeps it live every night.

But has the external performing helped you process that grief on the inside?
I think this show has helped me to put words around things. I tend to perform first, and then the writing comes in and I tighten and add flourishes. I always start with tone, and I wanted this one to be a less heavy tone. I think the grief I鈥檓 experiencing is one of life鈥檚 fundamentals. I didn鈥檛 want to center it as an, "Oh my god, this is so big and huge." Because it鈥檚 not. Death is the cost of living. And this has become a great place to keep the memory alive. After someone dies, the world just moves on in a rush, because that鈥檚 the way the world moves. By doing this show, holding on to this鈥� I think that lengthening the grief gives a mental lightening at the end, a bit of connection to the world.

You say in the show that social media is 鈥渨here neurotypical people go to experience the worst of autism.鈥� Tell me about about that, and your own experience of social media as a person with autism.
The idea of social media has always felt a bit weird to me. But sometimes when I dip in, I watch how people chat to each other in the comments. I鈥檓 like, "This is parallel chat." It鈥檚 almost dogmatic. I think it鈥檚 made me really appreciate the importance of non-verbal clues, which just disappear on social media. The non-verbals are something I鈥檝e worked really hard on understanding, because it鈥檚 always been the things that I鈥檝e missed in real-life interactions. That鈥檚 where that observation came from. I鈥檓 not real great on social media, but we鈥檒l just keep going for as long as we can.

Hannah Gadsby in Woof! David Urbanke

Has the show always been centered around your father?
The earliest version was actually more about Barbra Streisand. The embryonic stage of WOOF! was December of last year. I just put on a few trial shows, throwing stuff out. I was in a special place then. I was reading letters I鈥檇 written to Barbra Streisand. I had listened to the audio book of her memoir, and I was obsessed. I think it鈥檚 one of the great experiences I鈥檝e had, hearing her read it. There are two things that stayed in the show from that version. The first is references to potatoes. Barbra Streisand loves potatoes. She talks more about potatoes than she does Marlon Brando. And the other thing is a dusty pink rug鈥攈er favorite color is dusty pink. I used to have the rug onstage, but now it鈥檚 backstage, so she鈥檚 still in the show a little bit.

At that point I was exploring parasocial relationships, because I get confused by them. I don鈥檛 always understand who I鈥檓 talking to. I thought it would be interesting to explore a parasocial relationship being witnessed by people who are having a parasocial relationship with me. Maybe one day I鈥檒l pick that back up again.

And then, I thought I鈥檇 paint a portrait of my father, but then I had a panic attack and thought maybe I鈥檓 not ready for that. The show has been circling ever since, waiting for the right time for me to talk about this stuff. As it happens, I just sort of discovered that as we were opening in New York. Every iteration of the show is fresh.

You end鈥攊f you can call it ending鈥攄enying your audience closure. Tell me more about your relationship to closure.
I鈥檝e always been good at ending my shows with a button. It鈥檚 kind of a calling card of mine. I like leaving the audience feeling that there鈥檚 a button, and it鈥檚 satisfying. In comedy, it鈥檚 a real skill that I delight in, to feel like I鈥檝e earned that. This show was so elusive, searching for that closure. And for this New York run, I just thought perhaps I need to accept that there isn鈥檛 any closure, which is part of what grief is. Your horizon just changes, and you have to deal with it.

You also talk a lot about your obsession with whales, so inquiring minds want to know: What would you ask whales if you could communicate with them?
I would ask whales about time, like, how do they experience time? I have a lot of trouble understanding time and the passage of time. It鈥檚 not linear in my head. So I wonder if maybe whales and I have something in common there.

After New York, WOOF! will play in London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Los Angeles. Tickets are at .

 
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