Gadsby offers a simple definition of comedy:tension,release. But she's tired of the tension,and she's tired of the release,of letting us – the audience,but especially men,and especially-especially straight white men – off the hook.
As a straight white man (sorry;not sorry) I confess I felt affronted and confronted by quite a lot of her material. Which is precisely her intent."To the men in the room who feel I may have been persecuting you this evening – well spotted,"she says near the end of her set."But this is theatre,fellas. I've given you an hour,a taste."
Her point is that as a"not-normal"(a lesbian,a woman who does not look stereotypically womanly,who grew up in a community that taught her to hate what she was) she has been persecuted her whole life. By letting us know what that feels like,maybe we'll be prodded into a little more empathy,decency. It's certainly worth a shot.
Gadsby showed onAdam Hills Tonight that she is a likeable if slightly oddball presence,and she showed on Josh Thomas'sPlease Like Me that she is a more-than-decent actor unafraid to mine her vulnerabilities. Both those aspects of her craft are on display in abundance here.