Hannah Gadsby Hopes to Map the 'Absurd Grieving Process' in New Comedy ShowWOOF!(Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

David Urbanke

The stand-up comedian — who uses they/them pronouns — is currently performingWOOF!at the Abrons Arts Center in New York City for a limited run through Oct. 27. This comes after having successful engagements at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland and other locations worldwide.

The work eventually transformed into what it is now, with the comedian noting that the first time they performed the current iteration was in March during a weeklong run of performances in Sydney.

They say that they addressed those complicated feelings in the early versions of the show but it “was a bit more glib, in a way, because, as I talk about in this show, I hadn’t uncovered how I wanted to talk about it or even let alone think about it.”

“I’m not saying anything cruel,” they say of addressing such powerful pop culture figures. “Often a criticism of Taylor Swift orBarbieis misogynistic, and that’s not how I’m coming. It is more of a playful ‘I don’t fit in.’ There are a few little textures, but I don’t think anything that makes so much money off us should be uninterrogated.”

In fact, their exploration of the seemingly prohibited topics play into the overall goal of the show. “My purpose isn’t to tear anything down,” they continue. “It is just to shift people’s perspective slightly, and then they go home and have something to chew on. I don’t think I have that much power to do anything, so it always bemuses me when people take me so seriously to the point that they feel anger.”

When it comes to Netflix, they feel that theirlong standing criticismsof the platform’s elevation of transphobic comedians, which was addressed inGender Agendaand is mentioned inWOOF!, “won’t be a problem for them.”

“I don’t know what the relationship with Netflix can possibly be,” they say of their current relationship with the streamer. “It is a data farm. They made it quite clear that they stand on the side of absolute freedom of speech and any jokes are fair game, ‘there are no real world consequences.’ "

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Tickets forWOOF!’s run at Abrons Arts Center in N.Y.C., as well as information about upcoming performances, are now available.

source: people.com