Remember Clippy, the paperclip from the early 2000s which would help you with absolutely nothing on Microsoft Word? Well he is back in 2025 to save us all from the dangers of AI and its evil overlord Alan Turing. This is a show for people who grew up in the early internet age, with the charmingly sweet Douglas as your guide to lead you through this sketch show full of wit and 80s rock anthems.
First off it’s pretty incredible how accurate Widick has made himself look like an anthropomorphic paperclip. It is just one of the show’s production design choices which makes great use of a stage not much bigger than a table.
Throughout the show, Clippy encounters many nostalgic characters and memes from 2000s internet culture. Widick also plays all of these with gusto but this is where the show falls down a little as he becomes very reliant on videos to simulate conversations between Clippy and these characters. He also uses some AI art and video content which seems a bit strange in a show that is about destroying AI. Yet, these are just small criticisms for a very humorous show with a very likeable and talented performer.
Douglas Widick: Paperclip, Gilded Balloon Patter House, until 25 Aug (not 19), 10.20pm