NOTE: This review will not contain spoilers

I’ve always suspected that Isaac wasn’t human.

On a warm spring evening, thirty or so of us huddle into the Studio at BATS where we’re greeted by a shiny, decked out creature welcoming us in. This is the eponymous blip. played by Wellington performer, Isaac Hooper. Or, a version of him.

blip. is sold as an underwater adventure, with a strong focus on soundscapes, movement and audience interaction. It delivers on all fronts.

Before the show even starts, blip. has audience members on-stage, setting the scene of a busy beach that seems to have a lot more going on beneath the surface. It’s a great way to introduce the audience to the level of interaction that the show will make use of, and sets the expectation in a safe manner. Nobody ever feels like they’re forced onto the stage, they’re invited, and it’s almost impossible not to accept the invitation without a smile.

blip. takes us under the sea and performs a series of individual sketches using the vast array of soundscaping equipment at his disposal. We’re eased gently into the range of technology, starting with voice modulators, progressing to shifting knobs and video-game-like interactions that are received with cheers and claps upon success. It’s a wonderful, convincing immersion into blip.’s world.

Hooper’s performance is incredibly strong, changing up sounds on the fly, whilst maintaing dynamic and lithe movements. There are times where you genuinely feel like he’s underwater, the way he paddles whenever he moves toward the audience sells us on the world he’s built. We’re drawn into his hypnotic performance so much that we’re all happy to big a part of it with all the fun games and tricks he has up his sleeve for us to play with. Whether it’s simply chanting or yelling words at a beach ball, the audience is always into it.

On the tech side, we have Charlie Jones and Thomas Whaley who are beat perfect in their executions. Lights fire off with impeccable timing. Sounds filter through as if they were naturally occuring in the Studio. There are technical flaws with any of the moving pieces, save for an errant microphone cover which is more an attestement to the enthusiasm of the performance than anything else. Jones and Whaley know exactly what they’re doing here, and it’s a marvel to witness.

It’s very difficult to write more about the specifics of the show, because most of the joy is in the discovery of it all. Hooper allows us to slowly pick up what he’s putting down and once the audience catches on, there’s a euphoric delight that only comes from experiencing it for ourselves.

blip. is a wonderful romp into the noisy mind of its core character. Amongst the chaos, there is joy, and amongst the loud, there is tranquility. A cacophony of effects, lights and trust in the audience results in an immersive soundscape that completely drags you into its whirlpool of glory, and sends us back out in waves of beauty. It’s a fantastic experience that can barely be described.

Blah blah.

blip. is running from the 31st October to the 2nd of November, 6.30pm at BATS Theatre. Tickets available from the BATS Theatre website.

Disclosure: As a somewhat active member of the Wellington performing arts community, I may be quite familiar with a number of the performers in this show.
Having said that, I am not a liar, and there is zero bias in my reviews, shut up.

Also, tickets were provided to me for free by the production. Literally changes nothing, though.