Claire Hooper: The Comedian Who Prefers Silence & Peanut Butter Sandwiches
Comedian Claire Hooper isn’t striving for fun. In fact, she’s actively resisting it. That’s the premise, and the surprisingly relatable core, of her new stand-up show, Fun Show xx, currently touring Australia. For Hooper, the pursuit of enjoyment feels… exhausting. It’s a sentiment that resonates with a growing number of audiences seeking authenticity over manufactured positivity.
“The minute my husband leaves the house, I turn the music off,” Hooper revealed in a recent interview with The Guardian. “I love silence. For my 40th birthday my husband, my two babies and I flew to Adelaide and hired a car to drive to the Barossa. My husband said, ‘It’s your birthday, you get to choose the playlist!’ and I said, ‘Just complete silence please.’ So we drove in silence for 90 minutes and that’s all I wanted.”
This isn’t a rejection of happiness, Hooper clarifies, but a rejection of the pressure to be happy, to constantly seek stimulation. “I’m not looking for life to be more fun. I just seek less of everything, thank you. My dream is five hours of uninterrupted thinking time.” It’s a sentiment that feels particularly relevant in an era of relentless content and the curated perfection of social media. Hooper’s comedy offers a refreshing counterpoint: permission to simply be, without the obligation to entertain.
The comedian’s aversion to noise extends to her musical tastes, or rather, the lack thereof. She describes a ritualistic listening experience with Queens of the Stone Age’s album Songs for the Deaf. “When it came out, I was getting my shit together – I was no longer engaged to a guy that I wasn’t going to marry and I knew what I wanted to do.” The album, it turns out, is deeply intertwined with a period of personal upheaval and self-discovery.
Hooper recounts a particularly revealing experience at a “rage room” – a space where patrons can safely destroy objects as a form of catharsis. “They asked ‘What do you want to listen to while you smash stuff?’ And I said, ‘Complete silence, please.’ Like, I’m not right. And they went, ‘I think you should put something on.’ So I put on that album. And I think I’ve accidentally loaded way too much meaning on it.”
Her relationship with Songs for the Deaf is almost ritualistic. “That CD is the only CD in my car. So when I do a road trip, I will listen to nothing, and then I will play the first three tracks on that album and repeat the third track three times in a row. And I will bawl the whole way through it and then I’ll just shut it off and drive in silence again. Other people have different forms of therapy, but this album is the only way I can access my emotions in a safe way. I very rarely listen to the end of the album. Isn’t that mad? I’m really afraid of this being in the public domain.” It’s a testament to the album’s power, and Hooper’s unique emotional landscape, that a simple collection of songs can serve as such a potent emotional conduit.
Beyond her personal preferences, Hooper reflects on the strangeness of fame and the occasional awkward encounters it brings. She recalls a particularly surreal experience while undergoing a colonoscopy. “I was getting a colonoscopy a few years ago. So I changed into the robe and little socks and walked into the surgery and the nurse – and I’m gonna name-check her – Narelle went, ‘Oh! I’ve been watching you on The Great Australian Bake Off!’ And I swear Here’s true, because you never say the right thing in these moments, but I replied, ‘Get ready for a very different viewing experience, Narelle.’” It’s a reminder that even in the most private of moments, the reach of entertainment can be unexpectedly pervasive.
Hooper’s career has spanned various platforms, from commercial radio to television appearances, including The Great Australian Bake Off. She’s also a veteran of the stand-up circuit, and her comedy often delves into the complexities of relationships and the absurdities of everyday life. She credits her husband, podcaster Wade Duffin, with a surprisingly straightforward path to marriage. “My husband and I got engaged five weeks after meeting. He’s the love of my life so I don’t feel like I’ve done anything especially strange. But we knew that it would worry friends and family, so we didn’t really announce it. I actually didn’t think marriage was a thing I was going to do – I’d been engaged and called it off like three weeks before the wedding back in my 20s. But within a week of meeting me, he was like, ‘I’m going to request you to marry me one day, but I know it’s too soon.’ I was like, ‘Fine!’ Five weeks went and he said, ‘Is it still too soon?’ And I said, ‘Nah!’ It was very unromantic, but also incredibly romantic. We got married in 2008 and we’ve been together ever since.”
When asked about a comedic nemesis, Hooper is quick to dismiss the idea. “No!” she states emphatically, though she concedes to harboring a quiet dislike for one unnamed individual. “There is a person who I don’t wish well. If they enter the room, I think, is there a way to get out of this room?”
Hooper also shines a spotlight on fellow comedians she admires, praising Bronwyn Kuss as a “genius” and highlighting the often-overlooked talent of Pete Helliar. “His shows are really funny.”
As for the strangest thing she’s done for love, Hooper offers a simple, yet telling anecdote about a flour tortilla filled with peanut butter – a culinary quirk that perfectly encapsulates her unconventional approach to life. “It would be a flour tortilla with crunchy peanut butter rolled up in it like a swiss roll. I know that’s not a sandwich, but that’s what I eat and nobody else I’ve ever met does that. I really enjoy crunch in the doughiness. I love that This proves not messy and you can eat it while you’re driving. I’m all about efficiency. It is extremely calorie dense. But if you are too busy for a meal, it will give you energy that will get you to the end of your night and you can eat vegetables tomorrow.”
Claire Hooper’s Fun Show xx is touring Melbourne International Comedy Festival – , Sydney Comedy Festival – and Brisbane Comedy Festival – .