Post by avalon on Jan 9, 2008 22:43:38 GMT 9.5
watermarked, sadly anyways I ll see if I can find some more,
please girlies check if you find other piccies!!!
London premiere of Cirque du Soleil's Varekai show
Cirque Du Soleil: Varekai
Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore, SW7 2AP
Miranda Richardson arrives at the gala performance of Cirque du Soleil's new show 'Varekai', at the Royal Albert Hall on January 8, 2008 in London, England
ARTICLE:
SOURCE:thisislondon
"Uplifting night at the Cirque"
By Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard 09.01.08
Full flight: Zoey Tedstill with Helen Ball, Susanna Defraia Scala and Natalia Presser performing with ease 80 feet above the audience
Cirque du Soleil
The annual Cirque du Soleil visit has become a fun-filled January tradition amid the post-Christmas gloom. There is something particularly uplifting about this year's show by the pioneering Canadian circus company that gives it a kick recent visits have lacked.
No wonder celebrities such as Annie Lennox, Mika, Katie Melua and Miranda Richardson were smiling as they left the Royal Albert Hall.
Gallery: See the stars at the first night
Of course, the music is still that rare breed of tooth-rotting chill-out Europop and there is still the jarring thank-you voiceover to the corporate sponsors, yet for once the plot makes some sense.
Varekai - "wherever" in Romany language - very loosely takes its cue from the Icarus story, opening with the spectacularly graceful fall of a whitewinged-figure from the heavens. This is an eerie echo of 9/11, which gives the performance a strong emotional resonance.
As Icarus (Mark Halasi) is saved by multi-coloured wood nymphs and brilliant-contortionist Irina Naumenko, who has probably never lost a game of Twister in her life, this can be interpreted as man recovering from the greatest of tragedies, a triumph of the life force. The narrative was, however, frequently upstaged by some terrific gymnastic skills, from the athletic Stiv Bello who spun like a whizzing propeller on his brother Roni's feet to juggler Octavio Alegria, who surpassed himself by tossing and catching countlessflying hats. The set is striking too - simple floor-to-ceiling metallic poles symbolising the forest dominate the rear of the set. A human sea anemone was the oddest costume, despite stiff competition.
There are some weaker moments. The Georgian dancers closed the first half on a low point and the clowns felt like filler, though these are small quibbles in an inventive production that packs numerous sucker punches and triggers all sorts of references, from The Oresteia's masks to Antony Sher's Richard III on crutches.
By the time the second half reached its climax with a troupe of stunning aerial Russians swooping over the stage propelled from swing boats my joints were starting to ache just watching it. I might be too old to run away to the circus but you are never too old to enjoy Cirque du Soleil.
Until 17 February (0870 380 0020).
please girlies check if you find other piccies!!!
London premiere of Cirque du Soleil's Varekai show
Cirque Du Soleil: Varekai
Royal Albert Hall
Kensington Gore, SW7 2AP
Miranda Richardson arrives at the gala performance of Cirque du Soleil's new show 'Varekai', at the Royal Albert Hall on January 8, 2008 in London, England
ARTICLE:
SOURCE:thisislondon
"Uplifting night at the Cirque"
By Bruce Dessau, Evening Standard 09.01.08
Full flight: Zoey Tedstill with Helen Ball, Susanna Defraia Scala and Natalia Presser performing with ease 80 feet above the audience
Cirque du Soleil
The annual Cirque du Soleil visit has become a fun-filled January tradition amid the post-Christmas gloom. There is something particularly uplifting about this year's show by the pioneering Canadian circus company that gives it a kick recent visits have lacked.
No wonder celebrities such as Annie Lennox, Mika, Katie Melua and Miranda Richardson were smiling as they left the Royal Albert Hall.
Gallery: See the stars at the first night
Of course, the music is still that rare breed of tooth-rotting chill-out Europop and there is still the jarring thank-you voiceover to the corporate sponsors, yet for once the plot makes some sense.
Varekai - "wherever" in Romany language - very loosely takes its cue from the Icarus story, opening with the spectacularly graceful fall of a whitewinged-figure from the heavens. This is an eerie echo of 9/11, which gives the performance a strong emotional resonance.
As Icarus (Mark Halasi) is saved by multi-coloured wood nymphs and brilliant-contortionist Irina Naumenko, who has probably never lost a game of Twister in her life, this can be interpreted as man recovering from the greatest of tragedies, a triumph of the life force. The narrative was, however, frequently upstaged by some terrific gymnastic skills, from the athletic Stiv Bello who spun like a whizzing propeller on his brother Roni's feet to juggler Octavio Alegria, who surpassed himself by tossing and catching countlessflying hats. The set is striking too - simple floor-to-ceiling metallic poles symbolising the forest dominate the rear of the set. A human sea anemone was the oddest costume, despite stiff competition.
There are some weaker moments. The Georgian dancers closed the first half on a low point and the clowns felt like filler, though these are small quibbles in an inventive production that packs numerous sucker punches and triggers all sorts of references, from The Oresteia's masks to Antony Sher's Richard III on crutches.
By the time the second half reached its climax with a troupe of stunning aerial Russians swooping over the stage propelled from swing boats my joints were starting to ache just watching it. I might be too old to run away to the circus but you are never too old to enjoy Cirque du Soleil.
Until 17 February (0870 380 0020).