Claire Hooper’s “Oh” is a heavily constructed piece of stand up/theatre covering Claire’s discovery of a goitre on her neck and contemplating life without the use of her voice.
The most remarkable aspect of this show is that Claire doesn’t actually speak, sing or utter a single noise throughout. Instead Claire uses a clever and complex combination of audio recordings, handwritten signs, video, dance, mime, props and even t-shirts to tell her tale.
This is an energetic performance from Claire with a lot in it to digest. Claire shows herself to have great mime skills and her dance sequences are particular highlights. However this is a show I would describe as humourous overall rather than delivering the big laughs. The pre recorded excerpts of Claire doing live stand up are a little unnerving in that there is laughter on the tape but none in the room.
There are some really interesting video excerpts including footage of Claire as a young girl and a series of sequences depicting Claire meeting with her doctor. These are amusing pieces without being laugh out loud funny.
All that being said, Claire’s performance is well worth seeing. She tells an interesting story and she does it a very clever, entertaining way that pushes the boundaries of what can be done with stand up.
For booking details go to Claire Hooper – Oh