Alice in Wonderland with its over the top nonsensical yet vivid characters and story is the perfect tale to be reimagined as an acrobatic extravaganza and Cirque Alice is exactly that!
In this show, we meet a bevy of wondrous creatures including of course, the golden-haired Alice herself. With a sweet operatic voice Layla Schillert conveys a sense of wonder at all she sees and everyone she encounters.
First on the list is the enigmatic White Rabbit (Raphael Papo), a very talented violinist who pops up to support or accompany many of the other characters throughout the night. And what characters they are.
The March Hare (Viktor Hladchenko) is caught in a time loop represented by a cir wheel in which he displayed extraordinary skill.
The Tweedles (Temesgen Adole Zada and Leul Derreje Ashebir) gave an extraordinary feat of acrobatic skill in which one twin was spun around again and again on the feet of the other.
The Mad Hatter (Darren ‘Dizzy’ Partridge) was so full of life and had fun interactions with the crowd, but his most hilarious laugh-out-loud moment was enveloping himself in a giant balloon and dancing.
The Snap-Dragonfly (Vladyslav Tsarov) displayed incredible strength and skilful manoeuvrability using a high bar with only one end suspended high above the stage.
The White King and Queen (Mathieu Cloutier and Myriam Lessard) were a roller skating duo zipping around at breakneck speed on a raised circular platform. At one point she was orbiting him with a small harness connected at their necks.
The Flamingos (Anna Stelmakh and Evgenii Slpukhin) gave a gloriously romantic display using aerial ropes. Their movements were fluid and oh so sublime.
Perhaps the most impressive show of co-ordination and strength was that of The Knights (Fadhili Rashidi and Ibrahim Mwaimise). In this routine one of the men was balanced upside down on the other’s head as he walked down steps and climbed two side-by-side ladders. I have never seen anything like this before and it was absolutely remarkable.
The Queen of Hearts (Veronika Ivanova) gave a spectacular display of strength and grace in various acrobatic poses using blocks that were attached to a half-moon-shaped pedestal.
The music in this show was delightful and featured a range of genres which included some dance tracks but also wonderful remakes of famous operatic and classical pieces.
A reimagining of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake provided a haunting soundtrack to The Caterpillar, made up of four women (Munkhjin Tuvd, Bayarmaa Ganbat, Shinechimeg Otgonbayar, Dolgorsuren Ganbold) performing beautifully co-ordinated chest and chin stands to bring the creature to life.
Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee gave urgency and drama to a display of courage and skill by The Dormouse (Daniel Onofre) who kept everyone transfixed while he balanced on cylinders of ever-increasing height.
Other musical delights included Delibes’ Flower Duet, Bizet’s Habanera, Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, and Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.
All of this combined with a dazzling lighting display and gorgeous costuming made this one classy evening. Cirque Alice is a stunningly beautiful show full of whimsy and delight which made me feel like a kid again.
CIRQUE ALICE
28 August- 6 September
Civic Theatre