Kooza

Cirque du Soleil is never just a circus! It’s a bright, acrobatic entertainment cavalcade that balances thrills and laughter, daredevil and slapstick in an expertly choreographed and perfectly timed performance. The precision of the international cast of artists and dancers is always meticulous, the antics of the clowns just a little bit different, the costumes colourfully sparkling and the music pushes the hype of the big top even higher.

There is always, too, a simple story that not only weaves between and around the intrepid acts, but provides the necessary ‘distraction’ while wires and poles, swings and wheels, are swiftly and proficiently raised and anchored or removed and replaced.

Kooza is no exception. The story is that of an innocent, naïve but charming clown striving to find his place in the world and discover new things. As he does so, he meets the enigmatic Trickster who takes malicious pleasure in teasing and tantalizing him with the acrobatic magic that is Cirque du Soleil.

Vladislav Zolotarev is beguiling as the Innocent, marveling wide-eyed at the things that are happening around him, gradually finding more confidence despite the Tricskter, played with elegant agility and haughtiness by Joey Arrigo. Whether cartwheeling across the stage or watching from the high above the orchestra, Arrigo’s Trickster is inscrutable, agile, in control.

Both characters are constant presences on or around the stage, one a source of wonder and virtue, the other a source of cunning and mischief, the “Creator and Supreme Master of the World of Kooza” and the amazing feats they will perform.

The first of these is the Charivari a celebration of gymnastics, balancing and trampolining that brings nineteen of the cast onto the stage in a glitter of red and gold and white pulsating energy. It’s a great ‘show starter’ and the first item in which Australian Laura Kmetko gets to strut her very athletic stuff.

Entr’actes involving the clowns, the dancers and of course the Trickster and his naïve Innocent then introduce two extremely flexible contortionists, an impressive aerial hoop performance that flies high above the stage, a unicycle duo that mixes balance, speed and dexterity and, leading up to interval, four intrepid performers on the high wire who balance precariously with poles, swords, bicycles and a chair!

A Skeleton Dance involving seventeen performers (including the Trickster in yet another elaborate costume) heralds the second half of the performance. It is followed by the famed Wheel of Death, in which two fearless ‘devils’ swing and skip and dive in and around two high, spinning wheels.

While the fast working crew bring these down and spirit them away, Australian drummer Ben Todd gets a solo spot centre stage, before the next acts featuring manipulation de cerceaux – that is, hoop manipulation, but it sounds much more romantic and suitably impressive in French. Yao Deng Bo, balancing on a towering arrangement of chairs is the final solo act, before the finale of performers springing the teeterboard, some alone, some in pairs, one even on stilts. A pretty stunning ending to the show!

Before and throughout the performance the clowns – Gordon White, Michael Jay Garner and Miguel Berlanga – perform age-old slapstick pranks that, though predictable, still raise a laugh and provide one of the distractions needed for the crew do their magic with wires and pulleys to set up the intricate equipment for so many of the acts.

The band, led by Carl Muir and featuring two Australian musicians – drummer Ben Todd and Ben Harrison who plays keyboard, saxophone and guitar – is another constant in the performance, setting the differing paces and moods for the varied acts.

Cirque du Soleil is a mighty business that began with a group of young performers in Canada and now involves creative international artists taking programs across the world. Kooza brings together two of the oldest circus traditions – acrobatics and clowning – in a show that is full of fun and daring that will thrill young and old alike.

Carol Wimmer

Photographer: Matt Beard