Hooper to headline comedy gala

AUSTRALIAN comedy royalty Claire Hooper has been announced as the headline act for the upcoming Bendigo Comedy Festival Gala.

The event acts as both the kick off and a metaphorical Whitman’s Sampler for the festival.

It takes to the Engine Room stage on Wednesday, 12 October and along with Hooper features several other performers plying their trade at the laugh fest.

Spokesperson Ash Greblo said securing Hooper’s participation was huge.

“It’s an honour,” he said. “Claire’s everywhere, yet she’s somehow making time to come to Bendigo and be part of our humble festival, which is unreal. It kind of takes us up a notch.”

A humourist and author, Hooper’s been a mainstay of comedy and entertainment for nearly two decades, first gaining wide prominence as a regular on the ABC’s Good News Week.

She’s also had successful shows at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, taken part the long running Great Debate events, and she’s also a Triple J Raw Comedy finalist.

More recently Hooper co-hosted five seasons of the Great Australian Bake Off, is a regular on Have You Been Paying Attention, and wrote a children’s book tiled Princess Benjamina Has A Very Cheeky Bum.

Greblo said Hooper’s inclusion in the Bendigo Comedy Festival Gala line up highlighted the growth of the event.

“To have someone like Claire Hooper is a bit of a boost to help us get back the momentum we may have lost due to COVID,” he said.

“The plan has always been to grow. The best part is the two festivals we’ve done people go back and report and make it sound really good, so acts like Clair Hooper are keen.

“Now she’s hopefully going to go back and say ‘I had such a good time in Bendigo’.”

The gala will be hosted by Daniel Connell and feature tight fives from many acts like including Urvi Majumdar, Mike Elliott, Patti Fawcett, Poppa and Greblo himself.

The Bendigo Comedy Festival Gala is set for the Engine Room on View Street on Wednesday, 12 October from 8pm to 10pm. Tickets are $35 and $30 concession.

The festival runs until Sunday, 16 October at venues all over town. Visit bendigocomedy.com for tickets and packages, show info, and much more.