Cirque du Soleil: Varekai

This is my third show in 20 years. First, Allegria. Then Kooza. Now Varekai. In an arena, rather than a tent or one of their permanent installations, there is not enough height for a decent aerial show. Many acts I'm used to seeing were absent. It was 80% clowning and only 20% acrobatics (and I am being generous in including a baton twirler, break dancer and juggler as "acrobats"). There was about ten minutes of "Oooh" in 2 hours of "Zzzzzzzz". The plot was fuzzy and difficult to understand. The creepy, mysterious enchantment you're used to seeing is completely absent. The music and dialogue were very canned. Although they may always be lip synching to a recording, you could really, REALLY tell. It was like watching "The Wiggles, Live".

This isn't the first circus with a story I've seen, but its the best. No animal acts, clowns in minicars or individual stand alone performances, this sort of circus is highly stylized with a usually vague story, singing and music to blend one act after another.

Some of the performers come from long lines of family acts, but there's also a fair number of Olympic caliber athletes looking to work their talent outside of competition. The acts are not all great, but are at least good and a few are exceptional. I thought it was pretty amazing that they are all done flawlessly in front of a live audience: Not one dropped prop, clumsy trip, dorky fall or wardrobe malfunction.

I'm not often drawn to the artsy/pouffy sort of humor. It tends to be too French for me, and it just doesn't appeal. Not all things French, just their humor. Any sound effects resembling gastrointestinal activity are apparently the ultimate comedy. The least appealing parts of Varekai involved that same French humor, and knocks the score down a little. I enjoyed the other comic acts in the show, whether they were French or not.

You can't beat a live circus show, but there are some advantages with watching this one on a widescreen. It was shot in HD format so it naturally takes in wider shots, and there's many angle shots, overheads and closeups that the live audience would never see. Colors are almost oversaturated but thats because so much of the circus is in bright primary colors. Varekai even has a DTS soundtrack and employs all the 5.1 system to good effect. The 2nd disc has some bio info on the performers and a short on getting selected and training for a live performance. The DVD set comes in a foldout box within a box, and gets an 8/10.

Varekai is much more than just a circus, it tells a story.

There are no flaws in the performance, the acts were all done perfectly from the stunning hand balancing by Olga Pikhienko to the astonishing, gripping Icarian Dance.

Olga Pikhienko is the best performer in the show, the lead female vocalist Zara Tellander also has a spectacular voice (sung Varekai 831 times)

It isn't all perfect however, there will be parts that won't appeal to you but overall I think it will shock you. Not all the acts are brilliant and you can't expect that from anyone.

Throughout the show there are no let downs, the music is wonderful although the sound on the DVD does not capture the energy behind it.

The DVD does not quite capture the magic of seeing the show live. I have seen many Cirque du Soleil shows and Varekai is for me the best travelling show.

It's definitely a must see show.

My wife and I went to a matinée performance of Cirque du Soleil's "Varekai" in the Nottingham Motorpoint Arena. As you would expect, most of the acrobatics were absolutely amazing, as were the costumes. Like other Cirque du Soleil shows, there was some sort of story but with most of the language being their traditional invented one that no one understands, this was not clear. But this didn't really matter. The music and vocals (even though I didn't understand them) were also very good. Regrettably, the circus tradition of using clowns was taken much too far, with about a quarter of the show dedicated to them. Their slap-stick antics were often bizarre or amateurish and at times downright irritating. They may have been entertaining a few decades ago but frankly fell flat and in some cases were risqué and unsuitable for the young children in the audience. So for us, this ruined what would otherwise have been an impressive and entertaining experience. Time for a re-think, SdS?

The show on TV was great, but the show it self... I have no words for it really fantastic!!!! And where is the the name of Gareth!? He (and Ashley) did such a great job and now there just thrown away! I just want to say, watch it! It takes you away in the world of ... VAREKAI!!!