Varekai

As part of Kitt’s birthday present, I picked up tickets for Varekai, the latest Cirque Du Soleil performance. An amazing show that had us captivated throughout, even Nykolai loved it.

There were a number of aerial acts, some jugglers (including three very young kids), contortionists, a troop of acrobats who did a few shows and a comic pair of clowns doing a vaudeville magician act (and an hilarious “crooner” number). The music was live, the stage layout was fantastic and the effects were great.

One hitch in the show was during the grand finale when one of the acrobats took a nasty fall. He was doing an extremely complicated tumble and missed his landing on a tiny, moving space. He fell onto some support frames and the guy who was to spot him wasn’t able to catch him properly, so he came down heavily on the floor. They stopped the show, toned down the music, brought up the lights, advised us to stay seated while they assessed the situation and had medics come out. As a precaution, the artist hadn’t moved at all since his landing and they very carefully put him on a stretcher with neck brace and much care. Once he was away, they restarted the show and another artist took over to complete the incredible stunt.

The troop went through a couple of curtain calls at the end and, as the lights were coming up, we were told that the artist involved in the accident was now in a stable condition (although no mention was made of what injuries might have been sustained).

All up, a show that I can totally recommend to anyone. Well worth seeing, as is true for any of their shows.