Interview: Bilal Huka Musa, ‘The Black Blue Brothers’

Ahead of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 we’re chatting with a range of creatives who will be heading to the city over August to find out more about their shows. Today we’re chatting with Bilal Huka Musa about the piece, The Black Blue Brothers.

Can you tell us a bit about you and your career so far…

We are a group of acrobats from Kenya. For a few years we have been on tour with The Black Blues Brothers, which combines breathtaking acrobatics with the imagery linked to the Blues Brothers, starting from the legendary soundtrack. The show is having a huge success: we have exceeded 900 performances and 600,000 spectators all over the world!

What is your show about?

In an elegant Cotton Club-style lounge bar, a cleaner is chasing his dream of becoming one of the Blues Brothers, when two characters, dressed in the iconic suits of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, show up offering him a chance to make his dreams come true, helped by them and his two colleagues. Following the whims of an extravagant vintage radio, playing rhythm 'n' blues music, the barman and the whole staff transform into performers doing balancing acts, waving flags, jumping and acrobatics with fire.

The stage brims with flawless bodies flying through the air performing tricky stunts with a smile always on their faces, using everything around them: every object (chairs, tables, hangers, vases and even mirrors) becomes a tool for breath-taking acrobatics and the constant involvement of the audience. If the Blues Brothers were a band trying to put itself back together again, the Black Blues Brothers are an acrobatic group that reforms every night onstage, giving life to a party full of dazzling moments set to the sweeping sounds of the cult movie’s soundtrack, one of the greatest pop legends of our times: human pyramids, limbo with fire, jumping with the rope and in the hoops, hilarious gags, funny stripteases, amusing dance challenges and much more.

What was the inspiration for the show and what’s the development process been to get to this stage?

Kenya has a very strong tradition in acrobatics. But the shows are usually presented in a“ ethnic” style, with typical costumes and music. The Black Blues Brothers is a very different show.

It all started around 15 years ago when the theatre director Alexander Sunny was invited to meet Sarakasi school. He is a Circus Story Professor at the University of Milan and produces and directs shows around the world with international artists, he was the author of TV programs dedicated to Cirque du Soleil and beyond. Together with him, it was thought a new concept for the Kenyan acrobats. At some point emerged the idea of paying tribute to the successful Blues Brothers. Blues is deeply linked to African roots. So, this show is different because it brings the traditional acrobatics skills from Africa at another level, putting them in a funny story full of gags and great music. It renews the classical repertoire, giving it a different soul. Traditional circus shows usually don’t have a unique leitmotiv, while contemporary circus ones sometimes privilege the tale over the virtuosism. The Black Blues Brothers is original because it takes the best from both styles: there is a story (the dream of becoming one of the Blues Brothers) and there are high-level circus skills.

What made you want to take thisto the Fringe?

Performing at the Fringe is every artist's dream. We are fortunate that since the first year we came to Edinburgh we have been very well received by both the public and critics. Every evening a standing ovation! 5-star reviews! This will be the fourth and final time we bring this show to the Fringe. While waiting for new amazing adventures in the coming years (yes, we will be back with some news) we want to invite all those who have not yet seen the show not to miss it. And, why not, all those who have had fun with us in previous years will come back to say hello!

Apart from seeing your show, what’s your top tip for anybody heading for Edinburgh this summer?

Get there trained! Edinburgh is beautiful, but it's even more beautiful if you walk through it. But it has a lot of climbs! As for the shows, and in particular the circus and physical theatre shows, we would like to recommend Humans 2.0, a contemporary masterpiece, and La Clique: guaranteed fun!

Why should people book to see your show?

Because it is fun! If you like R&B (and why wouldn't you?) and want to enjoy an hour of human pyramids, acrobatics, somersaults, fire limbo and much more... then we're waiting for you! Everybody needs somebody to love... and we need you, you and you!

When and where can people see the show?

We will perform everyday from the 1stof August to the 25th of August at 15.10 in the Music Hall of the Assembly Rooms (54 George Street