It’s hard to believe it’s 25 years since Cirque du Soleil first performed in Australia, radically changing our perceptions of circus entertainment. No longer did a circus have to have animals doing tricks; now it was just people doing extraordinary things. It’s fair to say that Aussies have fallen in love with Cirque du Soleil in the years since.
Since its first Australian show, Saltimbanco, opened here in 1999, Aussies have been huge fans of the Canadian-based, world-famous company. And at the opening of Luzia under the Big Top in Brisbane this week, it’s clear the love affair continues.
In a blaze of colour, Luzia invites audiences to imagine themselves in Mexico, where light (“luz” in Spanish) quenches the spirit, and rain (“lluvia”) soothes the soul. The show is peppered with grand visual surprises, breathtaking acrobatic performances, playful moments, and through it all, incredible artistry. Without wanting to give too much away, there are even rain showers incorporated into some of the scenes, and as in Mexico, even a cenote (natural sinkhole).
Queensland audiences will be thrilled to know that one of their own has a starring role. Speaking of her excitement about returning to her home state for Luzia’s national tour, Helena Merten said she had dreamt of this since she was seven years old when she saw her first Cirque du Soleil show, Quidam, in Brisbane. “I am beyond excited to perform in front of my hometown crowd,” she said.
Helena stars as Running Woman, wearing a monarch butterfly-inspired costume with stunning six-metre-long wings. Fellow Queenslander, Nelson Smyles, is a hoop diver in the show.
With extraordinary acrobatic performances, Luzia brings traditional and contemporary circus disciplines to a whole new level. Cyr wheel artists roll and spin under the rain, an aerialist suspended from a trapeze flies and twirls through the rain, a cyclist rides backwards, a juggler tosses pins at breakneck speed, and two football freestylers mix street dance with mind-blowing ball manipulation.
More than 4.5 million people around the world have already seen Luzia. Premiering in April 2016, it is Cirque du Soleil’s 38th original production since 1984. It travels with a team of 120 people including 47 artists from 26 different countries. Luzia is the 10th Cirque du Soleil show to visit Australia over the past 25 years.
Luzia by Cirque du Soleil plays under the Big Top in Curtin Avenue East, Eagle Farm, Brisbane, until November 10. It will then move to Sydney where it will play under the Big Top in The Entertainment Quarter from November 24, 2024, until February 9, 2025.
Information and bookings: www.cirquedusoleil.com/Luzia
Would love to see this!