When is the last time you were so enthralled you couldn’t speak? The bewilderment of seeing something surreal with your own eyes was greatly lost in the pandemic - with most of our media in the last two years relegated to screens.
Enter Kurios - the return engagement of one of famed Cirque du Soleil’s most acclaimed touring shows. After more than two years with multiple rounds of closures in live entertainment, the circus has returned to the Ontario Place grounds, delivering the greatest spectacle since the “before times.”
It’s also among the greatest shows I’ve ever seen from the acclaimed Montreal company. Every scene offers an endless supply of surprises, with characters, sets, effects, props (more than 400 of them!) and performers that are each more beautiful and heart-stopping than the last.
In the company’s 40-year history, its shows in permanent theatres (like those in Las Vegas) have always had a creative edge over the stadium and Grand Chapiteau that had to be flexible enough to pack up and move city to city.
Part of what makes Kurios’ sets, scenes and stunts so exciting, however is the creative use of the stage and non-permanent theatre. They maximize the stage in every way possible, with incredible set pieces appearing one after another to heighten the production value. No other travelling circus show, including those from Cirque, has ever seen innovation like this.
The story is of an inventor called The Seeker (Antonio Moreno) who theorizes that is cabinet of curiosities is actually alive - so he uses an invention to shrink himself to their size, where he and his new friends begin an adventure to witness what the toys can do.
Curiously, the show’s story of a homebody makes sense for post-pandemic audiences, many of whom are returning to the theatre for the first time since early 2020 or longer.
Perhaps that’s why the continual theme of height, scope and scale play into most acts - it challenges how we see the world differently through a sliding lens.
For example, the thrilling hand balance of Ukraine’s Andrii Bondarenko plays with audience perceptions of height and risk in a growing tower - until a dramatic set change questions what we thought the gravity defying stunt was about all along.
It’s hard to describe how and why each act is so terrific without giving away the secrets, but I will say highlights include Anne Weissbecker’s Aerial Bike, James Correa’s Rola Bola, Roman and Vitali Tomanov’s silk straps duo and Chih-Min Tuan’s Yo-Yo.
Of the whole show, the one scene that fell flat was the second act comedy routine featuring animal impressions on a first date. It was briefly funny but the scene played for way too long, didn’t connect to the rest of the show’s theme, and only the centre section crowd could fully see it, with the sightlines blocked for two-thirds of the audience.
But one forgettable, five-minute scene is no reason to miss the rest of this magnificent show - and the same performer’s act one “Invisible Circus” is brilliantly staged and rightly hilarious. The remaining two hours delivers on every front as a feast for the eyes, ears and soul like a great circus should.
And yet Kurios is more than that. The experience I had watching the show earlier this week is not just that of seeing a terrific performance, but also a therapeutic experience, with the audience bravely trekking from their homes once and for all to insist on the importance of attending cultural events in person - the way theatre is meant to be seen.
That sense of community in the audience, with a full house laughing, gasping, and cheering together, was deeply rewarding in its own right. And to compliment it was more than one of the most mesmerizing events I’ve ever seen, but without question the best travelling show Cirque du Soleil has ever staged.
While appropriate for children, don’t be fooled into thinking this is just for children or young families. Kurios is a brave, exhilarating work of theatre, music and circus that will enchant you long after you’ve left the circus tent.
This is the first theatre review Oakville News has green-lit since the pandemic began, and it was deeply satisfying to have this project to write about. The best feeling was leaving the show amid the buzz of the dazzled crowd, with everyone still shocked by the incredible piece we all saw together. There’s no greater feeling than that.
Cirque du Soleil’s Kurios
4 out of 4 Stars
Rated 6+. 2hrs 15mins. Sci-Fi Fantasy Circus.
Music and Lyrics by Raphaël Beau.
Written and Directed by Michel Laprise. Creative Direction by Chantal Tremblay.
Starring Antonio Moreno, Mathieu Hubener, Nicolas Baixas, Kazuha Ikeda, Rima Hadchiti and Facundo Giminez.
Now Playing at the Cirque du Soleil Grand Chapiteau, Ontario Place, 955 Lakeshore Boulevard West, Toronto, ON. Runs until July 17, 2022. Tickets range $58-240. Tickets available online here or by calling 1-877-924-7783.
