by Mark Smiley
Cirque du Soleil’s newest touring show, Kurios — Cabinet of Curiosities, has rolled into town with 65 trucks and 2,000 tons of equipment as the 35th installment of the franchise since 1984. The show is set up under the 62 foot high big top in the west lot of the Pepsi Center and performances run until July 26, 2015.
The show, which features 46 artists ages 21 to 37 and over 100 costumes, is the newest installment in the lineup of shows. It is the chance to see astonishing feats of agility, flexibility, strength, balance, coordination and inventiveness. Kurios evokes the eerie world of a 19th-century carnival. It’s a shadowy universe inhabited by strange, and vaguely ominous creatures, such as an accordion man, a serious chap with a cosmic pod for a stomach and a little woman who resembles Angela Lansbury. The production’s settings and costumes suggest a mad scientist’s laboratory and fantasies in
the late 19th century.
The stage is one of the lowest of all Cirque du Soleil big top shows. It is only 24 inches high. This decision was made by director Michel Laprise so that the artists are closer to the public. The props on stage include coppered Victrola record players, a clanging vintage clock, anti
que electric lights, odd robot-like characters with pod faces and bulbous metal midsections. This is a museum-worthy assemblage, created from recycled bits and pieces of leather, metal, old gramophones and typewriters, turbine engines, piping and tubing.
Of course a Cirque du Soleil show would not be complete without acrobats, contortionists, jugglers, and death defying acts, one of which is a dashing chair balancer at a levitating dinner party, and a goggle-wearing aviator who uses his biplane as a platform for a balancing act that has him perching on a gyrating tower of cylinders and planks. James Eulises Gonzalez who performs on the Rola Bola is the only artist who cannot be replaced if stricken ill or injured. He is the only person in the world who can perform this feat.
Kurios also features comedy from the cheeky verve of the ensemble. However, David-Alexandre Després wins laughs as both the overeager suitor of a lovely young woman plucked from the audience, and as an uncannily realistic and raunchy pussycat who won’t leave the poor girl alone. Cirque du Soleil has not deployed clowns often but this show adds one.
“Let’s not forget we are still a circus …,” said Bruno Darmagnac, artistic director of Kurios, “…and since the beginnin
g the company made a statement to never ever use any animals in our productions, which is something often expected from a circus. In that sense we went, ‘NO, we will never do that, but clowns..YES.’ And this one is a very special clown. And different. We don’t even call him clown, we call him the comic.”
Cirque du Soleil was cofounded by Guy Laliberte and it is now one of the biggest live entertainment groups in the world having performed 35 shows in front of nearly 150 million spectators in more than 300 cities on six continents. He has been aiming to revitalize his company, known for its intricate circus shows as its creative guide.
Laliberte started out as a street performer in Quebec, walkin
g on stilts and breathing fire. He founded Cirque du Soleil in 1984 when the Canadian government awarded him a $1 million contract to develop a celebration for the 450th anniversary of the discovery of Canada. Now, Cirque du Soleil has close to 4,000 employees, including 1,300 performing artists from close to 50 different countries.
Darmagnac indicated that Laliberte is involved with every show before it premieres. Shows are put together and then performed in front of Laliberte for final approval. Darmagnac describes this process as “entering the lion’s den.” Each act is meticulously choreographed and Laliberte will either approve each act, make changes, or eliminate it altogether. It makes for a tedious process but each employee of Cirque knows what to expect and knows the final product will be something audiences will enjoy.
Darmagnac has been with Cirque du Soleil since 2011 and before joining Cirque, was the co-creator of FLIC FLAC, a modern traveling circus in Germany. He is excited about the new show. “Allegria [the traveling tour prior to Kurios] was 20 years old. This one is new and the energy is completely 
different,” said Darmagnac. “This one [show] really wanted to put humans on stage, with a face and with this steampunk look. Lots of people can relate to it and it will not go out of fashion for a long, long time.”
Kurios was written and dir
ected by Michel Laprise, and features bright and breezy songs by composer-music directors Raphaël Beau and the duo Bob & Bill. The songs are upbeat, unpretentious numbers reminiscent of 1930s French jazz, buoyantly performed by a small, eclectic ensemble. The music kept the audience engaged and complemented the acts.
They’re a few of more than a dozen acts in a show that runs close to 2-1/2 hours, including one intermission. The audience at the Denver premiere gave the artists a standing ovation. Kurios — Cabinet of Curiosities tickets can be purchased at www.cirquedusoleil.com/kurios.
All photos: © Martin Girard shootstudio.ca