Hannah Gadsby has more to confess, hilariously, in “Woof!”

What an innocent and iconic treat for many Australians, a Tim Tam. In Hannah Gadsby’s latest and excellent show, Frame! (Abrons Arts Center, through October 27), prepare for that sweet innocence to be left in undignified smithereens, thanks to a brilliantly disgusting prank involving a discarded packet of Tim Tams and something, say if you were cleaning a hotel room, that you I never want to find it on the floor.

At certain times during Frame!-as in other well-known Gadsby shows, Nanette And Douglas– the laughs come from oh-so-familiar comedic riffs with deft construction and then a ricocheting set of payoffs. Then, at other times, when the focus turns inward to questions of identity and grief, or outward to the state of a multifaceted world, humor is enhanced moments of seriousness that calm the room and harsher swirls of thought and nuance. Then, with a verbal flash or carefree irreverence, Gadsby subverts that seriousness with a breathless joke.

Here they talk (again) about gender and the act of transition – but for Gadsby it’s not a boilerplate narrative, but something much smarter that defies expectations and invites more questions. For Gadsby, art and confession are very personal detective work, and the case goes on forever.

Gadsby is both a wonderful joker and storyteller (a tilt of the head, a sideways glance, a pause can add to moments of prolonged hilarity), as well as being adept at the art of segueing stories and jokes with sharp moments of introspection and confession. In this show, at certain moments, they insist that these moments are just between us.

This request for a shared secret is made seriously, and also with a wink, for the real talent of Gadsby’s comedy lies in the simultaneous marriage and clash of public and private, of admission and reluctance , comedy and seriousness, and the confrontation of the very real with the surreal and the fanciful. Their tone matches this multi-textured roller coaster: thoughtful, caustic, very serious, loud, irreverent. Each story, each gag is like its own magical and mysterious journey. Where will it end up?

Those who saw Nanette will remember the change in tone of the show where they spoke, with fury and precision, about their experience of gender-based violence; in this show, they talk about their father’s death and grief, about abortion laws and their struggle with Netflix, about feeling like there’s a new, lingering problem with fame. Comfortable beds and luxury are lovely, but what does it mean for Gadsby personally, their voice, their work, their life? Gadsby said Frame! because the title is a reaction-meets-expression to a world plunged into so much chaos.

Reflecting on Taylor Swift’s fame and global prominence, Gadsby not only confesses to not being a huge fan, but also sums up Swift as “a Coke can posing as a sorority cult.” Gadsby has spoken about his own autism before – here, he talks about social media as the place where neurotypical people go to experience “the worst” of their condition.

“I’m going to be canceled by feminists,” she jokes about how her humor can be received by women. “I don’t think there’s anything more feminist than being canceled by feminists.”

As with Nanette, Frame! it is also an examination of the meaning of comedy, the place of anger and seriousness in comedy, the way in which a show is constructed, a questioning of what their humor is, and the purpose of tell the humor, of what is told to us and what is remembered.

Gadsby does not traffic in mass confessions; they will tell us a bold headline and not the whole story. Gadsby is destroying Netflix and what it has done to them, rather than to them. In such setups, Gadsby’s talent is evident: how the jokes interact with the stories; and how the traumatic and the raw feeling can be transformed into jokes without diminishing the seriousness of the story.

In NanetteGadsby spoke movingly about the interplay of punchlines and tension, and the need for them to tell their stories properly, beyond the jokes and beyond being the subject themselves. . In Frame!whether it’s coming out, gender identity, the oppression of Netflix, or the meaning of whales, it means that Gadsby wrote and edited every word and sequence with care, despite the appearance improvised. By deploying these words with such dazzling acuity, Gadsby intends to combat ignorance, stupidity, easy readings, stupid conclusions and expected tropes. As a result, you listen to every word as, right in front of you, they blossom into so many laughs, punchy sighs and vivid meanings.