By Adam Rafferty
Probably best known for her regular guest appearances on Channel 10’s Have You Been Paying Attention? Lizzy Hoo surprised last year when she appeared on Shaun Micallef’s Origin Odyssey on SBS, a show where he took Australian comedians on journeys to the countries of their familial origins. The surprise came when Hoo’s episode saw her visiting Ireland, rather than the more expected Malaysia, and exploring the non-Hoo side of her family. Even though she doesn’t identify highly with her Irish heritage, she wasn’t going to turn back a free trip to the Emerald Isle!
For you see, normally it’s her dad – Chan Hoo – whose stories feature most prominently in her standup routines. In fact, according to Lizzy, whenever she starts writing a new show, she first consults her brother for crazy stories she may have forgotten of their father that she hasn’t shared so far. In Deja Hoo, it seems the comedy gold hasn’t been fully mined yet, for a mad story of her dad’s massage business going awry provides another wild tale, which apparently, he loves coming along to hear as part of her routines. In this performance there was even someone at hand to corroborate Hoo’s descriptions of her dad’s enthusiasm for her comedy, as a nurse from the Brisbane hospital he volunteers at was sitting in the front row with photographic proof on her phone of the Hoo family comedy wellspring.
Apparently, her Irish Australian mother isn’t as keen on attending her standup comedy, not because she’s not featured, but rather because when the jokes about Chan have finished, Lizzy defers to tales of her dating life, which hasn’t been entirely successful. It might be just me, but Hoo’s television persona tends to give off a sweet and funny vibe that makes her appear like the kind whose routine would be entirely mum-friendly; however, she’s quite a bit bluer and more debauched than a mother’s club reunion might enjoy. Although Lego loving paramours of Ms Hoo would suggest I’m not the only one to incorrectly assume she’s possibly far more of the Harry Potter fan type than in fact she is.
A night out with Lizzy Hoo not only sounds like a lot of fun, but for the right folks – Backstreet Boys fans perhaps – this truly is a whole lot of fun too.
Image: Chris Hillary
