Events

[COMEDY] Finding yourself naked and alone on stage is the classic premise of an anxiety dream, but for Tig Notaro it’s a challenge, and the objective is to refocus the audience with her moseying delivery and dry punchlines for the remaining 20 minutes. She went topless onstage in 2012 after undergoing a double mastectomy without any reconstructive surgery. Comedians often show their scars, but never quite so literally, and that’s the hallmark of Tig Notaro – she’s a revelation in the (male and female) comedy industry. A deadpan comedian of the driest vintage, her causal offhandedness makes other comedians’ stand-up seem effortful. She gets more personal on her current tour, “Boyish Girl Interrupted”. Droll, she shares bits of her personal story, referencing her battle with breast cancer, remarking that after years of making jokes about being flat-chested, her breasts overhead and decided to kill her. Laughing in the face of tragedy, or rather, using comedy as a vehicle to move you away from tragedy, even if only for a minute, is the theme of this tour. Notaro has always delighted in replaying stories and shifting perspective, like when a child gets excited over the sound of a fire truck, but those on the other end of that siren are anything but excited. It’s that shift in perspective, looking at her situation through a different lens, that’s indicative of her strength. Catch Tig Notaro at the Tralf Music Hall on Sunday, February 15.