Don’t miss the circus as it swings into a city near you

WORDS MARGRET MEAGHER

Fall of Icarus
Photo: Veronique Vial

Back in the early 1980s, a band of street performers – jugglers, dancers, musicians, stilt-walkers and fi re-eaters – entertained the locals in Baie-Saint-Paul, a Canadian town near Quebec City.

In 1984, one of the young performers, Guy Laliberté, conceived the idea of Cirque du Soleil, now a world famous theatrical troupe.

“Cirque du Soleil began with a very simple dream. A group of young entertainers got together to amuse audiences, see the world and have fun doing it. Every year, the audiences get bigger, we continue to discover new places and ideas, and we’re still having fun”, CEO Laliberté says. The difference is that now they’re having fun across fi ve continents!

Aerial Straps
Photo: Rick Diamond One of Cirque du Soleil’s spectacular shows, Varekai, is now touring Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth performing under Cirque du Soleil’s signature 2,631-seat blue-and-yellow Grand Chapiteau (Big Top). The word “varekai” means “wherever” in the language of the Romany (gypsies) and this production, the fourth to visit Australia, is a salute to their nomadic spirit as well as a showcase of new circus thrills. Be prepared to be wowed by acts not seen before in Australia, like the Icarian Games and Russian Swings.

As audiences have come to expect, the new show presents an extraordinary world inhabited by mystical creatures, magical experiences, fl amboyant costumes, breathtaking acrobatics and infectious music. Its story centres on Icarus, a young man who falls from the sky and fi nds himself in an alien forest where his adventures begin to unfold.

Written and directed by Dominic Champagne in 2002, Varekai has visited 35 cities so far, entertaining a combined audience of 3.5 million people. It’s been performed over 1,700 times.

Cirque du Soleil is very much a travelling family circus, complete with its own power supplies, catering facilities, administrative offi ces and a school. The logistics are mind-boggling.

Varekai travels with 1,000 tons of equipment in 73 containers, including 400 pieces of staff luggage and 60 bicycles. It takes seven days just to set up the site, and during a weekend, the kitchen serves up to 400 meals a day. A staggering 180 people from 18 different countries travel with the show, including 56 performers, and an extra 150 people are hired locally. The circus family even includes two sets of identical twins – the Santos twins, Pedro and Ramon, who feature in the Icarian Games; and the Atherton twins, Andrew and Kevin who perform in Aerial Straps.

Russian Swings
Photo: Véronique Vial The circus’ amazing costumes are also an epic production. Costume designer Eiko Ishioka says it’s a challenge “to design costumes that accentuate the visual and emotional impact of the risks taken by the artists, while ensuring their complete safety”. Varekai features over 450 costumes, shoes, wigs and hats, which took an incredible 33,000 hours to create. Six people are employed full-time just to clean, repair and iron everything, and performers spend up to an hour and a half every day having the elaborate make-up applied.

For Varekai’s powerful, hypnotic music, composer Violaine Corradi combined the sounds of Hawaiian ritual, the songs of 11th-century French troubadours, traditional Armenian melodies and contemporary gospel music – designed to help the audience feel, at different times, the dizziness and danger of the performances or reassurance.

It all adds up to one thing for you – a memorable, magical night out!

For all your travel choices, go to www.jetstar.com

VAREKAI’S TOUR DATES

Melbourne
Now until 3 June
The Oval at Melbourne Park, Swan Street
Adelaide
5−22 July
Bonython Park, Port Road
Perth
17 August to 16 September
The Esplanade, Corner Riverside Drive and Barrack Street

Bookings for all performances from Ticketek tel: 1300 130 300, www.ticketek.com.au