Hannah Gadsby: Nannette (MICF)

Hannah Gadsby is more than happy to divulge the inner workings of a comedian in her swansong tour, Nanette. Taking the title from an encounter with a brazen country town barista, Gadsby spends only a few minutes on her run in with Nanette before revealing that - due to the fact that comedy festival shows are registered by name months in advance - this show really has nothing to do with the woman in the cafe. It's a Meta experience that dives into the unnatural nature of "natural comedy", but it doesn't last for long.

From the outset of Nanette, it feels as if Gadsby, like so many before who have decided to quit their jobs, has already switched off. She sounds defeated, jaded towards the entire decade of comedy she has performed for her fans. Initially a mildly humorous approach to her retirement, it's only in the final moments of Nanette that the reason for this fatigue becomes apparent.

What starts as exhausting self-deprecation is quickly turned on its head to become a harrowing insight to the darkest events in Gadsby's life. The washed-out political humour is earnestly revealed to be a deservedly angry Gadsby shining a light on her true feelings on the state of the world. It's a side of the comic that most have never seen before, and the result is a collective lump in the throat of a shocked and moved audience.

At times, Gadsby is so filled with rage at the patriarchy and its disgusting branches (that result in violence towards transgender people and suicide within the greater LGBTQIA+ community) that she is visibly shaken and forgets where she is in her own show. There is no happy ending, no guiding light or optimism about the future, but if there were, there would be no point to this performance.

Gadsby's final show is a gut punch, it's a giant middle finger to a society of victim-blaming, and it's a mic drop on a world that cares more about a rapist's reputation than their unforgivable actions. Nannette feels, and in fact is, important; a courageous expression of the anxieties and sorrows that are praying on the minds of so many minorities in 2017. This is essential viewing for all and a truly difficult journey that Gadsby is able to guide us on. But, be warned, this is not a comedy show. There are certainly jokes, but there is also a mountain of pain that many will not be able to climb.

This is not a satisfying end to a career for Gadsby's fans, but it's a satisfying end for Gadsby herself. When all is said and done, that is really all that matters.

Hannah Gadsby presents Nannette, til 23 Apr at Melbourne Town Hall, part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.