Australian comedian Hannah Gadsby hasn’t been to the Edinburgh Fringe in seven years. But their return was well worth it. After the success of their Netflix special, ‘Nanette‘, Gadsby has had to figure out who they are after gaining millions of fans, becoming incredibly rich, and facing attempts at ‘cancellation’ from ‘successful’ male comedians. 

They begin their new 80-minute special with an overused premise about Cabbage Patch Kids — what happened to them? Where are they now? But as Gadsby dives deeper into what they wanted to make the show about, they call back to these earlier premises to make a point. Originally, Gadsby thought they had to make a show about their father’s death, but instead, it became much more about how they deal with the major changes in their life post-40 years old.

Gadsby talks a bit about sexuality and gender, as that’s part of what made them famous, and they reference ‘Nanette’ several times throughout the show. But it’s mostly about how they’ve changed — they no longer need glasses thanks to expensive laser-eye surgery, they go to expensive hotels with concierges and they’ve started asking ‘why?’ instead of ‘how?’

As Gadsby tackles this big theme, along with how cancel culture can both hurt and help comedians, they continue to tie in jokes from earlier in the show. Of all the shows I’ve seen at the Edinburgh Fringe, no one writes a joke better than Gadsby. As they tie in meaningful messages and poignant stories about their late father and dog, Douglas (who gave his namesake to Gadsby’s second Netflix special), Gadsby also manages to elicit multiple applause breaks and fits of hysterical laughter. 

‘Woof’ may not be as much of a game changer as ‘Nanette,’ but it’s proof that Gadsby’s success and longevity is well-deserved. Despite their experience after their rise to fame with many suspecting Gadsby could be a one-hit wonder, that’s simply not the case. Now that Gadsby is working on their fourth major special since ‘Nanette,’ they somehow still have an important perspective to bring to the table.

‘Woof!‘ has finished its run