Hannah Gadsby is something of an overnight success. And she owes it all to a friend who entered her in the 2006 Raw Comedy Competition, at the tender age of 28.

In her own dry, self-deprecating manner, which is typical of her stand up style, she says, “I’m from Tasmania, we’re slow there.” Since her win in 2006 she has become a regular on the Australian and international comedy scene, having now performed around the country, as well as in New York and Edinburgh. She’s currently touring Australia performing her latest show, Kiss Me Quick, I’m Full Of Jubes.

“It’s daunting, you’ve just overwhelmed me,” she responds, when I ask her how it feels to suddenly be in such high demand. “I never really thought about it like that, I just try to keep up with it.” She goes on to confess that she’s “not exactly proactive” and that she is lucky it is happening at all.

Not only is Gadsby an accidental comedian but she is also accident prone. She has been hit by cars a number of times, and just days ago, in Adelaide, a random “bogan” punched her in the back.

“I was leaning on a fence and he decided he needed to punch it. But as it was only a bamboo fence, he ended up hitting me… I suppose hitting bamboo is just the way some people express themselves when they’re angry and breathing petrol fumes all day at the Clipsal 100.”

It was her penchant for accidents, along with her mother’s pathological fear of doctors, that inspired the material for her latest show. When asked how her mother feels about being featured in the show, Hannah simply replies, “She is bemused.”

Another random touring tale of Hannah’s occurred in Edinburgh beside a rubbish bin. In her hunt for a golf club to use at the local “pitch and putt” Gadsby had exhausted all the second hand stores, to no avail. On her way home, as luck would have it, she passed a homeless man using one to dig out rubbish from a bin. She had to have it. But he drove a hard bargain. In the end, not only did she end up shelling out an exorbitant amount for it, she also had to endure a lecture from the man on the health benefits of drinking dandelion tea!

Despite the chaos she seems to attract, Gadsby is actually a very serious person and prefers dramatic, tragic performances to comedy. “When it comes to comedy, I tend to admire the type of comedy that I couldn’t do myself,” she says, naming Tim Minchin, Judith Lucy and Denise Scott as some of her favourites.

In addition to her head line show, which she performs in Brisbane before moving on to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF), Gadsby is also performing in a number of other gigs during her stay in Melbourne.

“It’s good to keep busy during festival time or you drink too much!” she laughs.

The first show is the NGV Comedy Tour, a joint venture between at the Ian Potter Gallery in Federation Square and the MICF. She will also appear with fellow comedian Monica Dullard in Lickity Split, a two show season at Gasworks. Gadsby says that it was a great opportunity for the two women to “just have a bit of fun and play on stage”.

“It’s valuable to work with other performers, you can get very possessive of your performance and writing.”

Lickety Split was created so that Gadsby could perform some of her older material in Melbourne, and share some of her coming out stories.

“Work is so personal – these issues have to come up. Part of my approach is to break down barriers between straight and gay, so bogans like my family won’t be so threatened by it all.” Gadsby is proud that her work appeals as much to straight audiences as gay ones – some of her most appreciative audiences come from RSL clubs.

Gadsby also has a degree in Art Curation and while in Melbourne she’ll be conducting a session on the history of Australian art. It promises to be both hilarious and educational. This free event is shaping up to be very popular and is almost completely booked out.

“I’ve always been fascinated by art,” says Gadsby, who is particularly fond of Colonial Art. “It is like another language and I quite like deciphering it.”

Hannah Gadsby’s remaining dates are as follows:
Brisbane Powerhouse, 24 to 28 March
Big Joke Comedy Festival, Bangalow NSW, 29 March
Melbourne Town Hall, 2 to 26 April
NGV Art Gallery Comedy Tour, Federation Square, Melbourne – 2, 9, 16, 23, 26 April
Lickity Split with Monica Dullard, Gasworks Arts Park – 17 to 18 April,
Factory Theatre, Cracker Comedy Festival, Sydney – 5 to 7 May.