Review
QUIDAM
Cirque du Soleil
Directed by Franco Dragone
Runs until July 25
Currie Barracks
When I was a kid, the circus never really lived up to my expectations. It always took place in some sort of permanent structure, you were never as close to the action as you expected to be and there was never enough candy floss in just one bag.
Cirque du Soleil may not sell its own brand of cotton candy, but it has cornered the market on the cinematic expectations I had of "the circus coming to town." There is a colourful big-top tent reinforcing the temporary nature of its stay. No matter where you sit, you are pretty close to the action and there are even people wandering around at intermission, hawking souvenir programs. Going to a Cirque show is what going to the circus is supposed to be like. So why am I still a little disappointed?
The title of the latest production to tour to Calgary is Quidam, which is a Latin word for an anonymous passer-by. The faint story is that of a little girl whose disconnected world is altered through the power of imagination.
Quidam is remarkably darker than the company’s Alegria, which played Calgary last year. The sounds of a storm brewing above the tent set the ominous mood and the images of certain characters, including several slow-moving bodies dressed in white jumpsuits, ricochet between being curious and creepy. The costumes are mostly muted greys and browns, a depressed slate of that which has been forgotten and ignored. This palette works as a nice foil to the symbolic bright red that punctuates many scenes in various forms, most consistently in a child’s balloon.
As you may imagine, all of the performers are tremendous athletes and their skills are undeniably unique and refined. With everything from tumblers to balancing acts, a house band to hoop artists high above the audience, the show offers many things to look at and listen to, but like the disconnected world of the little girl, Quidam’s acts are satellites that often don’t relate either to one another or to the central themes. The shortcomings I described may not be important components in an average circus, but Cirque du Soleil is far from common and deserves to be thought of both as a work of theatre and a travelling sideshow.
As the latter, it is mostly successful. It is easy to discard any expectations you may have of Cirque’s theatrical side in light of the high production values and daring feats of courage and strength, of which there are many.
One woman skilfully manoeuvres a piece of red cloth that drapes from the top of the tent. Hanging literally by threads, her movements are precise and poised and tremendously nerve-racking to watch. Swathed in a silky red cocoon, she precariously conjures up a very striking, womb-like image.
Four young girls propel spinning, spool-shaped objects between one another in tightly choreographed patterns that, on the night I saw it, made the audience gasp in disbelief and amazement. Also notable was a gaggle of performers jumping multiple ropes at once with smiles on their faces and style in their steps, all in time to the music.
But it was the clowns, of all the performers, that won my heart for actually inducing an emotional reaction. They combined slapstick and a classic clown esthetic into a solid work of art that incorporated the audience. While the nature of improvisation is unpredictable, their delivery and timing was impeccable.
However, their theatrical routine was out of place with the rest of the show, which was more of an itemization of accomplishments as opposed to challenging entertainment.
It’s not often that a circus like this comes to town, exceeding any childish expectations. A packed tent filled with people of all ages buying popcorn, hot dogs, soda and Cirque-branded merchandise indicates that a lot of folks are turning to this industry for a glimpse of something magical. When Quidam explores and reworks traditional circus imagery, it flourishes.
Unfortunately, there are not enough of those moments to fill the big top for two hours. Seeing this troupe perform for the second time in two years is certainly not, as the publicity phrase goes, "seeing them again for the first time." But if it’s spectacle that you’re after, Quidam delivers just that. |
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