Kenya’s best acrobatic troupe bring their world-famous show to the Geelong Arts Centre this weekend.
The Black Blues Brothers, five alumni of the Sarakasi Trust in Nairobi, present a show combining contemporary circus and acrobatics with musical theatre.
Paying tribute to the iconic Blues Brothers film, the show weaves stunts, jumps and pyramids throughout the musical comedy in a celebration of rhythm and blues.
Having toured the world for the past eight years, the Black Blues Brothers have visited more than 20 countries and entertained an estimated 650,000 people across 1000 performances.
They have performed to Pope Francis and Prince Albert of Monaco, at the Royal Variety Performance in the UK and the Moulin Rouge in Paris, drawing acclaim wherever they go.
Most recently, the show has toured Italy before performing at the2025 Adelaide Fringe Festival, receiving five-star reviews and inspiring one critic to call them “the most talented group of athletic performers we’ve ever had at the Adelaide Fringe”.
Lead performer Bilal Musa said the performers were loving their time in Australia on this tour.
“We got five stars at the Fringe Festival last month, and it was amazing; people liked it a lot, it was very nice,” Musa said.
“I do this show because it’s my passion, the thing that I do with all of myself. I love it a lot, and it brings to me good experiences all over the world.”
Musa said the show was more than just a circus spectacle.
“It is an acrobatic show, but we do it in a different way,” he said.
“We call it the Black Blues Brothers, so we do the show as acrobatics but in a theatrical way. It has a theme, it has a storyline.
“Everybody knows the Blues Brothers, so we wear the suits, perform in the suits, but there is acrobatics, comedy, love, a lot of things.
“We want to tell the people to come and see our show, because we’re ready to perform and we hope they will enjoy it with us.”
The Black Blues Brothers are at Geelong Arts Centre on Sunday, April 13. Visit geelongartscentre.org.au for tickets or more information.
