Blues
The blue paint alludes to the woad used by Celtic warriors, but the Blue Man himself has come to act as the elder rather than the warrior archetype in Edinburgh’s Beltane Fire Festival.
The Blue Man’s role is both practical and spiritual. Queens come and go, the King is killed and reborn each year, but the Blue Man is constant. He keeps the collected wisdom of the Court, the knowledge of the ritual, and maintains the order required by nature.
He leads the Court through a spiritual landscape primed with pitfalls to see the summer safely brought about with the death – and subsequent rebirth – of the Green Man.
Those who play the part of blue men carry out a similar role in real life during the run up to the events. They visit each of the performance groups in turn to explain the rituals and the narrative of the performance. They offer support and guidance to both organisers and performers alike and encourage all involved to focus on the task ahead.