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Agnes Gets Hysterical is a collaboration between Agnes and Kingston’s Hysterics Collective. Aligned with the Collective’s mission, this initiative seeks to disrupt the mainstream comedic narrative with diverse voices and punch-up comedy that raises feminist consciousness and strengthens community. Getting hysterical also ensures Agnes doesn’t take herself too seriously either! This series of video performances “riff-off” artworks in Agnes’s exhibitions and permanent collections.
Courtney Gilmour is one of Canada’s most unique voices and sought after comedy talents, named by NOW Magazine as “one of the top 10 stage artists to watch”. She delivered a breakout performance at the 2017 Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal by winning the Homegrown Comics Competition and filming a set for Kevin Hart’s LOL Network. Courtney’s victory at the 2017 Just For Laughs Homegrown was the first by a female comic in the 19 year history of the event. In 2018 she topped it with televised performances at CBC’s Winnipeg and Halifax comedy festivals, as well as a triumphant return to Montreal to tape a set for The Comedy Network at Just for Laughs.
Courtney was one of the 42 at Toronto’s JFL42 festival two years in a row with her own run of headlining shows and in April 2019 she wrapped a hugely successful tour as part of the Just For Laughs Roadshow. She returned once again to Montreal for another round of Just For Laughs shows including a televised performance on The Howie Mandel All Stars Gala airing on The CW Network.
Her solo Fringe show “‘Congratulations!’ Stories of Achievement, Embarrassment, & Self-Worth” debuted at the Toronto Fringe Festival in summer 2019 and was met with sold out shows, glowing reviews from press outlets city-wide, as well as multiple awards including Best of Fringe and Patrons’ Pick, earning her three extra performance runs and a UK debut at Brighton Fringe Festival. The show is in the works for becoming a published book.
She has written for and made appearances on TV’s The Beaverton, the web series Space Dragon & Kim, CBC’s The Debaters, and Late Night In The Studio. She has an animated series currently in development. Courtney can be seen touring around North America and heard regularly on SiriusXM and CBC LOL. Courtney’s warm, accessible, and intelligent brand of stand up has made her a hit with audiences nationwide.
Works from Agnes’s Collection:
Unknown Maker, Petticoat, 1850–1900, wool and cotton. Gift of Jessie Orr, 1964 (C64-569.31)
Unknown Maker, Nightgown, 1908–1912, linen. Gift of Kathleen Richardson, 1988 (C91-719.25)
Unknown Maker, Negligee, 1930–1945, net. Gift of Parks Canada, 1990 (C91-734.14)
Unknown Maker, Underpants, 1877, cotton. Gift of Daisy Chown, 1961 (C61-548.10)
Unknown Maker, Underpants, 1900–1910, cotton. Gift of Jessie Orr, 1964 (C64-569.26)
This program is made possible through the generous support of George Taylor Richardson Memorial Fund, Queen’s University and the Province of Ontario through the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.
Videography and Editing by Jung-Ah KimAgnes Gets Hysterical is a collaboration between Agnes and Kingston’s Hysterics Collective. Aligned with the Collective’s mission, this initiative seeks to disrupt the mainstream comedic narrative with diverse voices and punch-up comedy that raises feminist consciousness and strengthens community. Getting hysterical also ensures Agnes doesn’t ta …
Chapters
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Intro
Intro
0:00
Intro
0:00
Petticoat
Petticoat
0:16
Petticoat
0:16
nightgown
nightgown
0:50
nightgown
0:50
negligee
negligee
1:22
negligee
1:22
undergarment
undergarment
2:03
undergarment
2:03
friday panties
friday panties
2:55
friday panties
2:55
outro
outro
3:50
outro
3:50
Use CTRL+F to find key words if it is a longer transcript.
Intro
0:01
Hi. My name is Courtney Gilmour.
0:02
I’m a standup comedian
0:04
and I’ve been invited by the Hysterics Collective
0:06
to review these undies by Agnes.
Petticoat
0:16
This is a petticoat.
0:18
This to me is alarmingly vibrant for its time, which I love.
0:22
It’s bright red. It’s loud.
0:24
I like to think that girls
0:26
wore it under their beige cream dresses
0:28
and they were like,
0:29
“You’ll never know what I’ve got under here.”
0:31
You know? It’s like just for them.
0:32
This to me is also what I believe women
0:35
wore when they were on their periods.
0:38
Honestly, I would wear this on my period.
0:40
Given how primitive menstrual products still are,
0:44
the technology is not there yet.
0:45
Just give me a whole red petticoat. Okay?
0:48
It’s the Victorian maxipad.
nightgown
0:50
This is a nightgown.
0:52
I love this.
0:53
It’s long. It’s ruffled.
0:55
It’s giving straitjacket vibes. Okay.
0:57
We’re going for a cozy psychosis.
0:59
Psycozy is the brand here.
1:01
For me, I really like the zip up at the back.
1:04
It’s very hard to get. Very inaccessible.
1:07
Back then, if you didn’t know
1:08
hard to get was more than a state of mind.
1:11
It was actually physically impossible
1:14
to get into people’s undergarments.
1:16
But if you managed to get in there,
1:18
then it was all a nice long ruffle-y pay-off.
negligee
1:23
This is a negligee.
1:25
This was every dress in the window
1:28
of Le Château in 2006.
1:30
I’m pretty sure I have this. It’s not a negligee.
1:32
It’s a full dress that teenagers were wearing.
1:35
If this is the Victorian era, I imagine it is,
1:38
I wonder if Vicki herself was wearing this.
1:41
Go off Queen! I support this.
1:42
This is why fainting couches were invented.
1:45
People think that it was because of female hysteria.
1:48
No, it wasn’t. It was the men.
1:50
How could we expect people to handle this level of sexiness back then?
1:54
You’ve seen your spouse wearing frocks her whole life,
1:58
and then she busts out this number.
2:00
You’re going to be on the floor for sure.
undergarment
2:03
This is simple,
2:05
modest weekday wear-type of undergarments, you know, very casual.
2:10
This is like the Monday to Friday with a little bit of lace trim
2:13
for a sultry Wednesday vibe.
2:15
There are a distracting amount of stains on this piece.
2:20
A little bit concerning, but…
2:22
I know the laundry situation back there was very minimalist.
2:26
I think the undergarments were more complicated
2:29
than the washing methods.
2:31
In 1877, you only washed your clothes
2:34
when you were about to walk into the lake.
2:36
And that’s what I think women did back then,
2:38
was dramatically walk into the lake,
2:40
wearing their full gowns and frocks.
2:42
This is just the thing that they did to feel romantic.
2:45
You’re not a true romantic era Victorian woman
2:49
unless you have absolutely
2:51
walked yourself directly into the lake wearing your underwear.
friday panties
2:55
These are the Friday panties.
2:57
It’s been a long week of lounging on the velvet sofa,
3:01
feverishly fanning your brow.
3:03
It’s time to unwind and relax
3:05
with some lace trim and an extra pop of colour.
3:08
They said, “we’re keeping the stains, but we’re adding blue ribbons.”
3:12
To me, when I see these, it’s like,
3:14
I can’t imagine getting into an argument with your spouse
3:18
while wearing these, like, in the bedroom,
3:21
having a heated intense fight.
3:23
It’s too embarrassing to be wearing ruffled mini pantaloons like this.
3:29
I think whoever’s underwear is the most dramatic wins the fight.
3:33
That’s the most fair solution to me.
3:36
You’re already humiliated enough wearing these.
3:39
Now you have to admit to hiding opioids in your waistcoat?
3:43
No. You win the fight with these.
3:45
They were just painkillers, Ophelia. Okay? Relax.
outro
3:50
Well, that’s the undergarments collection.
3:52
I’m Courtney Gilmour.
3:53
Thank you so much to Agnes
3:54
and the Hysterics Collective for having me.
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