Out of the Blue review (Edinburgh Fringe)

[AD – PR invite*]

★★★

Oxford’s a cappella choir ‘Out of the Blue’ are back at the Edinburgh Fringe for 2025, which marks the group’s 21st year at the festival. After watching their YouTube videos when I was young, I was so looking forward to finally watching their show live at Assembly George Square. Even though it was an entertaining hour of harmonies and high energy performance, in my opinion the set list isn’t varied enough and there is too much focus on the production elements.

Song choices

With a tracklist featuring artists such as Bruno Mars, Adele and Taylor Swift to name but a few, the majority of songs come from the pop genre, but there are also some delightful surprise highlights such as a Frozen medley and a Bon Jovi cover. Initially it starts quite exciting, with a lively number straight out of the gate, but during the middle of the show the tracks are quite similar tonally, and it feels repetitive. I’d like to have seen some of these spread out amongst the running time, so that there is greater variety.

High production value

The show definitely makes me think of the Pitch Perfect films, with the vocal arrangements, varied lighting arrangements and fun choreography. However, there is so much focus on the production value and the audience interaction elements, that the overall viewing experience is borderline too much. A key example of this is the flashing lighting effects, which are distracting during the opening number. In some ways I wish the group had chosen to take a more stripped back approach, focusing on the voices and less on the overall showmanship.

Harmonies and beatboxing at the Fringe

There is no denying that the harmonies are brilliant and the voices blend superbly, but the show could benefit from more softer moments to break up the amplification and intensity. You can catch ‘Out of the Blue’ at the Gordon Aikman Theatre at Assembly George Square until 25th August (not 11th). Performances start daily at 12:10pm, with tickets available via the festival’s website.

*My ticket for ‘Out of the Blue’ was gifted in exchange for an unbiased review.