Photos © and courtesy Cirque du Soleil. Photos by Tomas Muscionico. Costumes by Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt.
WHERE DO THEY find those agile, coordinated, athletic performers, year after year, show after show? Well, CIRQUE has done it again…this time, with KÀ at the MGM.
The first thing that strikes you is the colossal showroom and the 360-degree rotating stage which forms the backdrop for the cinematic journey of aerial adventure and perpendicular acrobatics that are about to thrill the audience for the next 90 minutes. That's not counting the clowns and audience "plants" that slip and fall, slap and slug, and chase and are themselves chased like modern day 3 Stooges to keep the audience amused before the curtain goes up as in all CIRQUE shows. Also indicative to all CIRQUE shows are the costumes and dancing, and of course the powerfully emotive soundtrack. KÀ is no exception. These alone are worth the price of admission.
"Hats off" to creator, director Robert Lepage who has brought together 80 artists from around the world in a gravity-defying production that's an innovative blend of aerobatic feats, Capoeira dance, puppetry, projection, and martial arts.
The story line of KÀ is hard to follow, but no matter, the acrobatic displays of the adventurous expedition during the coming-of-age of the hero and heroine, twin brother and sister make this a mute issue. The highlight of KÀ, is the battle between the twins, their protectors, and the bad guys on an enormous vertical stage offering a unique, aerial perspective.
KÀ produced, from the audience, more laughs and less "WOWs" than "O" or "Mystère" thanks in part to the antics of mischievous, mysterious giant sea creatures that threaten the well-being of the twins.
The most "WOWs" came during a breathtaking, gravity-defying display by the bad guys on the "wheel of death."
There appeared to be more use of harnesses and rigging in KÀ than in "O" or "Mystère," so KÀ may be somewhat of a training ground for the CIRQUE performers.
KÀ is an audio and visual delight that can and should be seen by all.
Again, (as in my review of "Mystère," and "O") I ask, "How can those performers bend, twist, stretch and contort without "breaking"?
KÀ can and should be seen by all!
Frank Marino
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