Blue Man Group - Bluevolution, Edinburgh review: 'you never know what’s coming next'

Blue Man Group straddle a fine line between crowd-pleasing and dumbing down, but most of their antics land on the right side, writes Kelly Apter

Blue Man Group | Jonathan Hipkiss

Blue Man Group - Bluevolution, Edinburgh Festival Theatre ★★★★

The fact that what the performers of the Blue Man Group do on stage is unclassifiable is undoubtedly part of their charm. This does, however, make them very difficult to write about. The company’s tagline, “Hard to describe, easy to love”, perhaps says it best, echoing the indefinable quality that has kept them in business for 37 years.

Started in New York but now based in locations across the world, the “performance art group” bounces seamlessly between live music, visual art and comedy. There are also brief moments of scientific education, most notably about the structure of the human eye, but rarely does a full minute pass without cause for laughter.

Attracting an audience demographic most shows can only dream of (young children, the elderly and everyone in-between), Bluevolution straddles a fine line between crowd-pleasing and dumbing down. Happily, most of their antics land on the right side. Covered in their iconic blue paint, the three male performers exhibit an endearing sense of innocence. Doe-eyed and vaguely confused, it’s as if they’re navigating this world for the first time, having arrived with a skillset that ranges from drumming to catching sweets in their mouths.

One of the most engaging aspects of this production, is you never know what’s coming next. It could be a spectacular (and messy) drum-meets-paint display, a hilarious attempt to operate a phone app or a joyful moment of mass audience participation.

Usually a three-man set-up, this current world tour also benefits from a female multi-instrumentalist known as “The Rockstar’, who adds a ferocious energy to the music. If you’re a Blue Man Group devotee, this will be another glorious helping of business as usual – for newcomers, prepare to forget all your cares for 90 fun-filled minutes.

Until 13 October