Bluevolution World Tour
★★★★☆ Imaginative
Festival Theatre: Tue 9 – Sun 13 Oct 2024
Review by Allan Wilson
The Blue Man Group have brought their superbly imaginative performance art skills to the Festival Theatre this week to Sunday, as part of their current Bluevolution World Tour.
Founded on Manhattan’s Lower East Side in 1987 by Chris Wink, Matt Goldman and Phil Stanton, the Blue Men have become an international phenomenon with continuing shows in Berlin and across the United States, in addition to regular international touring.
Paint drumming on the Bluevolution World Tour. Pic: The BMG.
At any one time, there are actually several “Blue Man Groups”, with the identities of the individual performers hidden behind skullcaps and thick, blue makeup.
The Blue Men do not speak during the performance, relying on facial expression, gestures and music, sometimes supported by text displayed on screens around the stage and an unseen announcer, to get messages on their underlying themes of curiosity, innocence and the innovative use of technology across to the audience.
Music is an important part of the performance, with different forms of percussion, sometimes supported by electronic music.
protective clothing
In an early scene, the three Blue Men line up behind deep snare drums, beating out a rhythm. Red and white coloured paint is slowly poured over the surfaces of the drums, flying higher into the air as the drumming becomes more frantic.
People sitting in the front couple of rows in the stalls certainly need the protective clothing they are issued with. At other times, the Blue Men show their talent in playing a sequence of classical themes on plastic drain-piping.
The Blue Man Group with The Rockstar in the Bluevolution World Tour. Pic: The BMG.
In the past, the Blue Man Group has often been accompanied on stage by a rock band, but, for the current tour, this has been replaced by “The Rock Star”, perched on a scaffold above the stage. Her powerful beats and exciting solos on the drum kit enhance the performance. The audience show their appreciation for her work with loud cheers.
Indeed, audience participation plays a major part in any Blue Man Group performance. As the show begins, people are invited to cheer a couple of Olympian athletes in the auditorium, while Eilidh, an air stewardess, is asked to stand and “show us the emergency exits”. Late-comers are picked out by a live-streamed camera feed and asked to be more punctual next time.
Another audience member throws a paint ball for a Blue Man to catch in his mouth – this was after he had earlier caught (and kept) two dozen thrown by other members of the Group in his mouth.
Peak participation
Peak participation comes with a willing member of the audience donning a white overall and a motor-racing helmet, being covered with blue paint, suspended by his feet and flung against a paper-covered panel. He was still smiling at the end of it…
The Blue Men share their fascination with science in a short piece on the human eye, beginning with the two types of photo-receptors involved in sight: rods and cones. This leads into a beautiful, witty animation involving one stick figure falling into a hole, and another being hit by a car.
Bluevolution is a hugely enjoyable piece of performance art, combining visual and physical comedy, music, audience participation and curiosity about science and technology that has the audience totally absorbed – when they are not helpless with laughter.
Running time: One hour and 30 minutes (no interval)
Festival Theatre, 13/29 Nicolson Street EH8 9FT
Wed 9 – Sun 13 Oct 2024
Wed – Sat: 7.30pm; Thurs – Sat: 2.30pm; Sun: 1.30pm & 6.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
The Blue Man Group Bluevolution World Tour. Pic: The BMG.
ENDS
