Claire Hooper: Familiar (MICF)

Most recently familiar due to co-hosting Foxtel Lifestyle Channel's The Great Australian Bake Off, which returned for a second season last year, Claire Hooper also recently gave birth to a second child. And her show, Familiar, is all about family - in particular, the Duffin family she married into.

While we wait for latecomers (the comedian insists some folk are tardy to the party, every night), Hooper shares an exchange she had with a sexist member of airport security, who later quipped, "Happy International Women's Day, ladies," and we immediately want to invite her to all of our future dinner parties. The anticipated latecomers arrive and then it's on with the actual show.

Familiar boasts a lively pace that's continually punctuated by audience laughter. Hooper's stories fold in on themselves with recurring motifs that highlight her endearing self-deprecating tone. There are jokes about 'mumbreviations' (eg. choccies, pressies), colorectal surgery, vasectomies, farmers markets, human poo in a laneway and her mother-in-law - surprising observations from Hooper's life and specifically how motherhood has shaped her recent past.

Hooper reads from an actual questionnaire that her future mother-in-law produced during their first-ever meeting (Hooper was already engaged to Mrs Duffin's son Wade at the time). Plus there are also heartwarming moments throughout when Hooper shares snippets from Mrs Duffin's personal history (such as the fact that she was only 18 when she gave birth to her first child). These realisations soften the tone and reflect Hooper's admiration for her mother-in-law despite the fact that the pair are obviously cut from different cloth. Hooper's timing is impeccable and comparing grieving to farting is pure genius.

And just when we thought we couldn't find Hooper any more genuinely likeable, she plugs some MICF shows by other artists at Familiar's conclusion, recommending we check out her Bake Off co-host Mel Buttle and Cal Wilson.

Claire Hooper presents Familiar till 23 Mar at Melbourne Town Hall, part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.