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"Kooza" - Cirque Du Soleil at The Royal Albert Hall
By Megan Prosser
Question for you. What do:
Craig Revel Horwood (Strictly), Adam Castle (GMTV), Nicholas Parsons (Just A Minute), Brendon Cole (Strictly… again), Heidi Range (Sugababes), Gail Porter, Jaime Winstone and former-Mrs Clooney Lisa Snowdon, all have in common?
Well, they were all at the Press night of Cirque Du Soleil’s “Kooza” at the Royal Albert Hall last week! With little old me! Who’d have thought it?
When I was first approached* to start writing for PostScript I said, with a sigh, “ok, but ONLY if you promise I won’t be exposed to any celebs”. And here we are. I tell you, it’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.
*my editor might remember this slightly differently…
***
From what I could gather, the overarching aim of “Kooza” was that you should be reminded of childhood. A host of vivid characters were quickly introduced to the 3000 odd audience members. In the opening moments, a David-Bowie-in-Labyrinth style Goblin Prince (without the cod-piece… shame) started “Spriting” (it’s a word, ok?) and effortlessly backflipping his way around the stage whilst a young-boy (in reality, renowned clown Stephan Landry) clutched a tattered kite nervously.
This Boy is “The Innocent”, Bowie is “The Trickster”, and we were also treated to a “Mad Doctor”, with more than a little of the Emmet Brown about him. He is, “The King”. So far, so good, and so simple when translated into the 6+ languages necessary for the truly global appeal of Cirque Du Soleil.
On that note, it seems redundant to point out that Cirque Du Soleil’s success, whilst having its birth in small street-performances in Canada, is now founded on being the BIGGEST and the BEST circus troupe in the world. And unlike some of the traditional “Big Top” circus format that persevere, there are no animals used either, so no problems with cruelty there, firmly placing Soleil in its rightful place as the world’s classiest circus. I’ve really enjoyed performances like this in the past, especially Argentinian spectacular “Fuerzabruta” which I saw for the first time back in 2008, but this was my first ever experience of Cirque Du Soleil.
For the most part, the pre-interval half of Kooza was gentler and more endearing than the Second Act, a difference akin to the traditional big-top family circus which I have already cited (Act 1), and a David Copperfield Vegas show (Act 2). While the Opening Act brought us romance and unicycles, the Second act thrust Fire and potential death right into our comfort zone. Some really properly sexy, dangerous shit there. Watch out for the Colombian Wheel of Death...
For me, the highlights of the First Act were 3 Malaysian Contortionists dressed like sexy tiger-prawns, bending themselves into unnatural crustacean shapes. In addition, without wanting to give too much away, the tightrope walkers were excellent (nothing better than the sound of circa 3000 people shouting “Noooooooooo!!!”.)
The set is a huge inflated star of circus silk, lit purple or leaf-green or red as the mood dictates. The shape is something akin to a circus tent knocked sideways. Live music and original scoring are a big part of the Kooza experience, and the two vocalists Vedra Chandler and Dorothee Doyer have voices like Sade. All of the apparatus was great, especially if you hadn’t seen it before.
Kooza is flamboyant and animalistic, with more spandex than you can shake a stick at. Hell, Cats is on at the moment, so it’s in excellent company, and the Royal Albert Hall is a beautiful setting. Particularly perfect for a family outing.
http://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/cirque-du-soleil/default.aspx
Tuesday 6 January - Thursday 19 February 2015
From £28 - £89.20 (full-price)
