The problem with watching Le Cirque du Soleil’s “Varekai” (meaning “wherever” in the Romani language) is you keep wishing you were the common housefly. Oh, to have compound eyes that can focus on 20 different sights at the same time! Failing that, you wish you were younger and more exposed to computer games, so you can have the short attention span needed to cope with the sensory overload from this heart-stopping performance.
There’s just so much going on in this three- (six?) ring circus, and you definitely don’t want to miss anything.
Should you concentrate on those nubile acrobats nonchalantly slithering on swinging bars overhead, like they don’t know that their life is literally hanging by a thread? Don’t blink, you tell yourself, in case they fall. But how can you ignore that gorgeous pair now leapfrogging all over the stage, their flexible limbs belying abs and hard muscles?
And look at how cleverly constructed the costumes are, the colors, whimsy, glitter and 3-D effects a treat by themselves. And so much like second skin you wonder how the characters poured themselves into those sheer costumes without breaking a sweat. Even the wooden skullcaps do double duty as grotesque creatures when the characters take a bow before moving off like disjointed puppets. Really amazing!
And hey, is that comically droll lady really fat, or is that just a costume? Watch out, she’s going to wade into the audience and pluck an unsuspecting guy to be the straight man in a madcap skit/magician act. Are your seats in the first few rows? Be ready to find the mustachioed magician suddenly landing on your lap. Don’t worry, no lap dance follows.
Hmmm, are those bamboo poles in the background moving, or are those clowns dancing while perched on stylized stilts? Really hard to tell. Illusions, special effects, dance, music, mime, movement, drama and visual gags bloom like the enchanted forest onstage, the setting for this loose interpretation of the story of Icarus.
Greek mythology has it that Icarus fell to earth when he flew too near the sun and the heat melted the wax holding his wings together. In this fantasy version, Icarus finds his way back to heaven through the help of the strange but beautiful creatures of the forest.
For the blissed-out audience, it often feels that way too.
Yup, the tickets are pricey, but what did you expect? It’s like watching at least six spectacular shows on one magical stage. Viewed that way, it becomes a bargain! PAC
“Varekai: Cirque du Soleil” has performances until July 24 at the Grand Chapiteau (Big Top) at the Rizal Park across Quirino Grandstand in Manila. Matinee shows on Tuesdays to Fridays, evening shows on Fridays to Sundays. For more information, visit www.hoopla.ph or contact (632) 775-0939, (632) 881-0947, (63) 919-4508125 and (63) 917-4436463.