Blip Blarp is nothing like me and you. She is blue, her reproductive organs are in her stomach, her hair is fixed in a permanent pink bun — but other than that, she is just like any other woman, looking for love in the desert that is the heterosexual dating scene. Blip Blarp has journeyed all the way to Earth in order to conquer it, which she hopes to achieve through excess reproduction (one thousand children to be exact) with a male partner.
She tells her story with the veritable innocence of someone who is having their first day on Earth, and not a good one either. Earth’s paltry selection of bachelors is a disappointment, and hazardous hook-ups with man-babies that lack basic (in)human decency will never end well.
Upon her arrival to our planet, Blip Blarp introduces herself to us. This is illustrated by luridly bright images of airbrushed versions of Blip Blarp on a huge flat-screen TV. These, along with some videos and songs in the show are unabashedly AI-generated — an odd choice in a festival where so many creatives work hard to come here and often decry the dangers of artificial intelligence.
What follows is a chaotic show, perhaps exactly what you expect at 23.15 in the Smash House. One cannot expect subtlety in a neon get-up, but there is a sincere commitment to the bit. For example, straight-faced, Blip Blarp sings “Oops can you see my plips? Mia culpa”, while gesticulating suggestively with her hands.
At times in the show there was some awkward tension in the crowd as the audience is unsure whether or not laughter at the oftentimes cringy dialogue is permitted or whether it is meant to be taken seriously. The use of mixed-media, from voice-overs to dance to strip-tease make for an engaging spectacle, but the script itself could be tightened up in terms of sharp comedy.
It felt, in a way, that Blip Blarp was attempting to court us just as much as Jeff, (wine-and-sip enthusiast, keen cosplayer). I cannot say I was completely charmed, as I left with a feeling of sympathy at the prospect that Blip Blarp will have to travel to Earth forevermore for the duration of the Fringe.
Blip Blarp is running until the 30th of August at Just The Snifter Room at Just The Tonic at The Mash House. Buy tickets here.
Photo credits to Rob Trendy.
