Out Comedian Hannah Gadsby Reveals Followup Standup Show to 'Nanette'
After vowing she was quitting comedy after her massively successful standup special "Nanette," out comedian Hannah Gadsby told The Hollywood Reporter this week she's returning to standup with a followup.
Gadsby is planning a tour for her new standup called "Douglas," named after her dog. "Douglas" marks the comedian's first U.S. tour and her first new material since releasing "Nanette" on Netflix last year, which went on to become a critical sensation.
"Douglas," her 11th standup comedy show, will feature new material inspired by the success and the lessons she's learned from "Nanette," according to THR.
"Douglas" will debut in Melbourne, Australia from March 27 through April 7 before Gadsby takes the show to the U.S. Her first stop is in San Francisco on April 30. She'll then head to San Diego, Portland, Denver, Texas, Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Nashville and wrap the tour July 12 in Los Angeles. More dates will be announced, including appearances in New York and even shows in Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
The announcement of a new tour comes after Gadsby said "Nanette" would be her last standup and she planned to quit comedy. After the success of that special, however, the comedy signed a book deal for a memoir called "Ten Steps to Nanette," which is due to later this year.
In an interview with THR, Gadsby explains her return to comedy, talks about "Douglas" and what new material fans can expect.
"I feel like I had every opportunity thrown at me at once [after Nanette]," Gadsby said of quitting comedy. "Everyone wanted a piece of this pie, so to speak. And I thought after some time that perhaps my best next move would be to do something that is what I'm really good at.
"So, tour instead of trying to learn a whole new skill set [like acting] and translate my creativity into a whole new genre or art form," she went on to tell THR. "My whole life and world have changed, so there's no real reason to change absolutely everything. There's a certain amount of comfort in going back on stage in an environment that I'm somewhat familiar with — although it's my first U.S. tour. It's still new.
"After what I did with Nanette, I'm not going backward; I'm going to keep pushing forwards — and probably upsetting some comedy purists again. We can't please everyone!" Gadsby said.