REVIEW: Kurios, the new Cirque du Soleil show in Singapore, enthrals with imaginative acts
SINGAPORE — An invisible miniature circus. A hand puppet show. A yo-yo artist. These are not normally acts you would expect to see in a circus, but they are part of Cirque du Soleil’s latest show in Singapore, Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities.
Kurios, located at the Big Top beside the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, opened last Friday (5 July) and runs until 18 August – and what a treat it is.
The show premiered in 2014 in Canada and has received great reviews in touring locations such as the US and Japan.
Kurios has many of what might be considered traditional circus acts, but with its own unique twists. The trapeze artist performs her stunts on a suspended bicycle. The juggler is yanked up high on a wire and continues his act in mid-air. It’s not enough for the rola bola artist to balance atop seven cylinders – he has to do it while on a swinging platform.
You’ve seen gymnastic acts. But have you seen them jump backwards from one human tower straight into a handstand on the hands of another performer on another human tower behind? That’s the next-level amazingness of the acts in Kurios.
The inventiveness of the show is mind-boggling. A tea party turns into a balancing act where a character climbs an ever-ascending tower of chairs, only to find that there is an upside-down tea party on the ceiling of the Big Top, where a mirror version of him is climbing an upside-down chair tower towards him.
There’s also an audience interaction component, where a clown performer entertains a female date selected from the audience.
There are also acts that are not usually associated with the circus, but are nonetheless enthralling. These include a finger puppet show which is projected on a hot air balloon. There’s an “invisible” circus which comprises mechanical contraptions mimicking acts done by humans (it’s cute because of the clown performer who introduces it).
The production value is top-notch, all helmed by Kurios’s director-producer Michel Laprise, who previously directed Madonna’s MDNA tour. He has dreamed up zany costumes and fantastical sets that include a locomotive that rolls onstage to introduce the whole show, and a giant mechanical hand upon which the contortionists perform.
Costumes, designed by Philippe Guillotel, are a feast for the eyes: there’s an Accordion Man whose stretchy body the costume-maker took one whole week to sew inside the costume. There’s a character whose huge mechanical pot-belly hides the dwarf performer Antanina Satsura. It sounds really weird but it’s all part of the whimsical steampunk theme of Kurios.
Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities is running at the Big Top beside Marina Bay Sands from 5 July to 18 August, with shows each week from Tuesday to Sunday. Ticket prices range from $95 up to $204 for Premium tickets. Tickets can be purchased via Sistic, Cirque du Soleil’s website or the Big Top box office.
