An entertaining steam-punk circus showcasing the extreme capabilities of the human body.
Cirque du Soleil delivers another breathtaking show under the Big Top with the Brisbane premiere of Kurios- Cabinet of Curiosities. The opening of Cirque du Soleil's Kurios- Cabinet of Curiosities promises to be one of the biggest nights of 2020, drawing many local celebrities into the Big Top. It was a full house, packed with media and sports stars. Mingling in the crowds were Olympians Steven Bradberry, Leisl Jones and Emily Seebohm, as well as sports stars like Brisbane Lions captain, Dayne Zorko. Pop stars Emma and Amy Sheppard from Brisbane band Sheppard also rolled up to witness the spectacular circus performance.
Written and directed by Michel Laprise, this steampunk-styled extravaganza set in the nineteenth century is touted to be their most successful and largest shows, first premiering in Quebec in 2014. Cirque du Soleil had humble beginnings founded by Gilles Ste-Croix as a small troupe of street performers in Baie-Saint-Paul, a small town near Quebec in Canada in 1982. With a sum total of 42 shows to date, they tour the World showcasing unique circus-styled performances under a big top, bursting with creativity to transport the audience to another time and place with weird and wonderful characters and a United Nations cast of 47 artists from 17 countries! Cabinet of Curiosities used 17 creative artists under the artistic guidance of Guy Laliberté (Guide) and Jean-François Bouchard (Creative Guide).
Kurios- Cabinet of Curiosities is divided into two parts and follows Le Chercheur, the “Seeker” (Anton Valen, Spain), a humanist seeking the fountainhead of wonders. The audience are immediately immersed into his invisible world of wonders when strange characters and musicians’ parade to the stage through the audience with a fanfare as the opening act, ending on stage where a locomotive delivers even more bizarre looking people. The fantastic set designs were diligently and lovingly created by a large creative team and more than 100 costumes were showcased throughout the show using 426 props, more than any other Cirque du Soleil performance. It took 250 hours to create the giant submarine-like round belly of Mr Microcosmos (Mathiue Hubener, France) from whence the tiny 100 centimetres tall Mini Lili (Rima Hadchiti, Australia) inhabits, representing Mr Microcosmos’ unconscious mind. Rimi, a home-grown Aussie is one of the ten smallest people in the World and appeared as a contestant in Big Brother in 2008.
The Russian Cradle Duo (Andrei Kalesnikau and Ekaterina Evdokimova) amazed and astounded with an acrobatic act as a star-filled audience watched with nervous anticipation, gasping as the duo swung, spun and caught each other repeatedly, the difficulty of the acrobatics increasing in intensity. The Aerial Bicycle act continued the dramatic feats in the magical world as Anne Weissbecker flew high over the audience whilst performing death-defying acrobatics on a bicycle.
The audience had time to de-stress watching the Invisible Circus of invisible artists performing more incredible acts. Whilst the Invisible Circus exhibited clever special effects and was a new take on the flea circus, it seemed like something was missing! Contortionists in eel-like leotards did strange contortions around a giant 15ft metal hand weighing 750 pounds and the Upside-Down World act was magnificent. It was an unusual twist on the traditional chair stacking circus trick. The chair stacking on the ground was simultaneously mirrored upside down at the top of the tent, creating an incredible spectacle making chair stacking a thing you wanted to “try at home”. The Rola Bola (James Gonzalez Correa, Columbia) continued the stacking theme by stacking cylinders and platforms whilst swinging on a giant swing at great heights. It showed great skill and as you could see the tension in the performer's face.
The most stunning act of the evening act was a thrilling performance of the Acro Net, acrobats dressed as underwater creatures in an aquatic extravaganza. The acrobats pirouetted through the air by bouncing on a giant trampoline suspended at the eye level of the audience. It was entrancing to see the performers soar higher and higher with each bounce until it seemed they might explode out the top of the tent.
The Ring Master provided the comedy, inviting a member of the audience to sit with him on stage for a drink – all in the form of mime. He then transformed to a cat, preening himself and pawing at the furniture and his guest. While the act appeared to fulfil a traditional aspect of the circus, it was a slow follow on from the previous act.
Mimicking the gracefulness of the cat was Continent of Doubles, a beautifully choreographed aerial acrobatics act that left the audience marvelling and sighing at their elegance, as the pair gracefully swung over the audience suspended only by a rope. Spinning Clockwork was a masterful demonstration of what can be accomplished using only a yoyo. Performed by the “Master of Time” (Chih-Min Tuan, Taiwan), the intricate operation of the Yoyo demonstrated his skill at controlling time, accentuated by bright yoyos and a darkened stage. He seemed to hypnotise the audience as eyes darted left and right in an attempt to follow his lightning-fast yo-yos.
Banquine was another fantastic display of acrobatics, this time with the stakes seemingly even higher. A troupe of acrobats performed death-defying feats as they formed human pyramids as high as four people. In one of the most shocking acts of the night, an acrobat was thrown from the floor up onto the shoulders of a three-person tall stack without the aid of ropes or nets and landing perfectly to bow for the audience. Banquine was a fantastic display of human strength and cooperation that wowed the audience.
A beautifully choreographed finale involved all of the performers and incorporated their acts to summarise the other-worldly theme of Kurios- Cabinet of Curiosities. The performers gave their final bows to a standing ovation. Cirque du Soleil's Kurios is a fantastic show that showcases the extreme capabilities of the human body.
Big Top, Hamilton Northshore
Jan 10 - February 23, 2020
Dr Gemma Regan