Laugh Breaks: Finding the Limelight

Claire Hooper started on the stage – crafting engaging, innovative live shows that blended stand-up, theatre and some hammer dancing.

Her 2006 show, Oh, earned her both critical acclaim and a nomination for the Melbourne Comedy Festival’s Best Newcomer award. A born storyteller with a sharp wit, Claire has gone on to regularly perform at festivals and comedy rooms all over the country.

Claire Hooper started on the stage – crafting engaging, innovative live shows that blended stand-up, theatre and some hammer dancing.

Her 2006 show, Oh, earned her both critical acclaim and a nomination for the Melbourne Comedy Festival’s Best Newcomer award. A born storyteller with a sharp wit, Claire has gone on to regularly perform at festivals and comedy rooms all over the country.

For four years Claire shared a set with Paul McDermott and Mikey Robbins on the iconic comedy show Good News Week as a team captain. She has also appeared on Rove and The Melbourne Comedy Festival’s Great Debate and Opening Night Gala. In 2019, she returned to Melbourne Comedy Festival’s Great Debate as host.

Over the last decade, Claire has been captivating audiences and touring brilliant solo shows across the country to critical acclaim.

In 2015 Claire scored her dream job, as co-host of The Great Australian Bake Off for Foxtel’s LifeStyle Channel alongside the seriously funny Mel Buttle, as well as judges Maggie Beer and Matt Moran and their fourth season aired in 2019.

Lawrence is an award winning stand-up comedian, screenwriter and documentary-maker. He created the ABC1 comedy shows Lawrence Leung’s Unbelievable and the AFI Award-nominated Choose Your Own Adventure and co-wrote and starred in ABC2's action/comedy series Maximum Choppage. Recently, he wrote an episode of The Family Law (SBS2) and played a sleazy nerd in Jane Campion's Top of the Lake.

Lawrence has performed his one man shows in festivals and theatres around the world including London's Soho Theatre and the Sydney Opera House. His award-winning theatre show, Sucker, was adapted into the AWGIE-nominated feature film starring Timothy Spall. The screenplay was shortlisted for the 2017 NSW Premier's Literary Award.

As a hardcore geek, Lawrence once jumped out of a plane with a Rubik’s Cube and solved it during freefall – just in time to release the parachute.

Edwina Lunn leads a team of programmers and producers across participatory public realm, access and inclusion, youth, families and children, and creative learning as Director of Programming at Arts Centre Melbourne.

Edwina’s background is in festival work that includes management and programming roles at Darwin Festival, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; and Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

She has also worked as an independent producer/executive producer on her own projects and with companies including ILBIJERRI Theatre Co, Black Arm Band, Melbourne Festival, Strut & Fret, Melbourne Recital Centre and La Soiree. And a very long time ago, Edwina wrote and performed in comedy for stage and television.

From his ABC sitcom, Lost in Pronunciation, to his debut live standup TV special, Chorizo Sizzle, Ivan exploded onto the scene in 2016 with his brilliant observations on Aussie culture and food, taking him around the country, headlining theatres and selling out festivals. In 2012, Ivan migrated from Venezuela to Adelaide and took up the challenge of performing comedy in a second language. Six months later he collected his first comedy award and was chosen to perform in Melbourne International Comedy Festival's Comedy Zone and Roadshow. 

When he sold out his first Melbourne season in 2014, the UK's pre-eminent comedy guide Chortle enthused 'Give this man citizenship...he's sure to have more to contribute to the Australian comedy scene.' And contribute to Australia's comedy scene he did. Ivan has toured for the past 4 years with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival Roadshow and the Sydney International Comedy Festival Showcase Tour. He grabbed major league attention at the 2015 Just for Laughs Gala at the Sydney Opera House and then took the country by storm with his performance at the MICF 2016 OXFAM Gala. This performance made him the hottest ticket at the Melbourne Comedy Festival where he completely sold out his season. Ivan went on to sell out his shows at Sydney Comedy Festival and won Sydney's Best Newcomer Award. In 2017, Ivan toured his smash hit show ‘Juithy’ around Australia. In the same year, Ivan’s sitcom Lost in Pronunciation aired on ABC. In 2018 Ivan performed at the MICF Opening Night Comedy Allstars Supershow, hosted the RAW Comedy Grand Final and sold out his most successful season yet with his newest show ‘Matador’ on an international tour with ‘Juithy’, taking the show to The Amsterdam Comedy Festival, London’s Soho Theatre and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Ivan now happily calls Australia home and has established himself as Australia's favourite Venezuelan comedian, relishing the chance to perform in his second language. He has gathered a mass of fans for his trademark cheerful and naïve rejoicing in the troubles and joys of a land that is girt by tomato sauce...and the unmissable Saturday Bunnings sausage sizzle.