‘Kooza’ is Cirque du Soleil distilled to its essence with signature risks and humour

Kooza

Written and directed by David Shiner. Plays through June 18 under the big top at 2150 Lake Shore Blvd. W. cirquedusoleil.com

This long-running spectacle is Cirque du Soleil distilled to its essence: jaw-dropping acts of skill, risk and grace; sumptuous music and spectacle that deliver exoticism without setting the action in any particular place; and a framing plot about a naïf whose life is transformed by his circus encounter.

And what’s more, the clowns are even funny, not always a guarantee.

“Kooza” has been in the company’s repertoire since 2007 and first visited Toronto that year, back when they used to play in the Port Lands. Plans to make Exhibition Place the new Toronto home of Cirque du Soleil fell through, so they’ve set up in a location surrounded by condos in Etobicoke. Plan extra time if you’re driving, as there’s pre-show congestion as soon as you start to exit the Gardiner.

As the show begins, an earthbound, rumpled Innocent (Cédric Bélisle) gets an unexpected delivery of a big, shiny red box. Out pops a lithe and beautifully dressed Trickster (Mitch Wynter at the performance reviewed) who opens up an enchanted universe. There’s a thrilling big-reveal moment as giant curtains on Stéphane Roy’s set lift upwards and a two-storey bandstand appears.

As the show progresses, the Trickster teaches the Innocent some of his magic powers using a baton that allows him to light up various areas of the stage (lighting design by Martin Labrecque).

The acts, as expected, are world-class and nicely varied. Three petite women in sparkly bodysuits that make them look like glamorous amphibians offer an elegant contortion routine. The light-footed Wai-Liang Lin spins and bounces diabolos (hourglass-shaped bobbins) on a string, this show’s take on a juggling act. Two solo female artists impress in fiery aerial silk (Mizuki Shinagawa) and playful hula-hoop routines (Ariunsanaa Bataa).

These quieter acts are counterposed in the first act with the risky work of four tightrope walkers on a double high wire who continually up the ante by adding bicycles and other props to their act.

Besides the Innocent and Trickster, there’s a loveable trio of clowns: a King (François-Guillaume Leblanc) and his two sidekicks (Miguel Berlanga Madrono and Duncan Cameron). Their antics before and during the show are charming and they get away with a lot: taking purses and wallets and handing them to other audience members, coaxing a spectator onto the stage to duel with the King, to the absolute delight of the spectator’s young son in the front row.

The skill and care with comic elements in the show reflects the background of its writer/director, American clown David Shiner.

The show’s tone shifts somewhat oddly to the macabre at the top of the second act with members of the ensemble doing a runway routine in skeleton costumes and a disconcertingly realistic mischief of rats scurrying across the stage. This sets up the production’s pièce de resistance: two daredevil acrobats from Colombia (Jimmy Ibarra Zapata and Ronald Solis) operating the Wheel of Death, a massive spinning set of metal beams with two hoop tracks on either end.

The acrobats initially run inside the hoops at top speed as the wheel rotates, which is gut-wrenching enough. When they took it up a notch the audience started screaming and cheering like it was a pro wrestling match. It really does feel like you’re watching humans achieve the capacity to fly.

This theme of defying gravity continues in Victor Levoshuk’s astonishing chair-balancing act. I continue to question whether what I saw was actually possible: this perfect specimen of muscle-bound humanity moving his entire weight around on one arm while balancing several stories above the stage on a set of chairs he painstakingly built himself.

The final, lighthearted number is a classic teeterboard routine in which acrobats send each other spiralling in the air by jumping on the other end of a giant see-saw.

Throughout it all, an eight-person live band led by Fritz Kraai performs Jean-François Côté’s eclectic score, which weaves pop and funk elements with traditional Indian music and orchestral arrangements. This everywhere-and-nowhere quality of the music is one of the signatures of this Cirque du Soleil era.

Marie Chantale Vaillancourt’s dazzling costumes are equally eclectic, channelling everything from military uniforms to the work of artist Gustav Klimt.

If you’ve never Soleil’d before, “Kooza” is a great show to start with because it so delivers the company’s signature style and flavour. And even if you’ve been it before it’s worth another look, because the liveliness of the risks and the humour are still very much present.