Review - Bloom Girl: spunky, inspiring and sexy

By Liv Wilson

Bloom Girl

Written and performed by Charli Burrowes

Directed by Elise Lamb

Produced by Madison Sturgess

A MeOhMy Stage Experience

Post-disaster, melted ice-cream in hand, and bleeding @bloomgirl, a disillusioned artist with a niche web comic, is waiting to be seen in a hospital emergency room. Tied up in knots of likes and filters, @bloomgirl’s carefully curated online persona is about to spectacularly collide with the IRL, culminating in a digital melt-down that breaks her tiny pocket of the internet permanently, but may just be real enough to matter to the right people.

Alice in a dark digital wonderland, @bloomgirl tells a riotous and sacrilegious tale about love and acceptance in a world of asshole influencers who care more about your follower count than what you have to say.

Charli Burrowes is a mega-star. There is no doubt about that.

Burrowes’ one woman, one act show is spunky, inspiring and sexy. Mix a touch of sarcasm and summertime sadness in there and you’ve got yourself the right ingredients for an electrifying experience.

I went in with high expectations and left with teary eyes, an inspired soul and a new favourite multi-disciplined visual artist on my radar. Her work is designed to tell a story “that makes people stop, think and connect.” I have to say that Bloom Girl is a walking, talking representation of just that.

Director, Ellise Lamb played a huge role in the success of the show with her iconic directorial flair. Some Brisbane creatives may have been surprised to see Lamb’s name on the creative lineup but to me, she was the perfect [and only] choice for a stage experience of this calibre. The play is built on foundations of heightened realism and heartfelt nuances which is Lamb’s bread and butter.

The show is a relatable comment on the world today and regardless of gender, age, tech-advancement or overarching ‘care’ for the internet; the general consensus was that of total relatability. I’m a sucker for a show with a modern twist, a reimagined tale of love and loss but this was an entirely new genre in and of itself.

The stage was left almost bare with just a few black theatre boxes which were adorned with neon lights. The simple set was the perfect vehicle for Burrowes’ gorgeous personality to shine. The technical elements were executed perfectly and with over 500 audio/visual cues it would not have been an easy feat to achieve.

Charli’s charisma flowed through her performing and writing. The script was witty, tongue in cheek and written in a way that gave you no choice but to love it. Burrowes’ has a wonderful gift that I have no doubt will transcend time and continue to break the confines of “what you’re supposed to do/think/feel” for years to come.

I haven’t seen a show quite like Bloom Girl before but I hope I see more with Burrowes at the helm.

Bloom Girl’s curtain has closed for the final time in Brisbane. Eager theatre lovers can in Melbourne, Sydney, Edinburgh and London in 2023/24 with exact dates and details coming soon on https://bloomgirl.com.au/