Kooza is the Cirque du Soleil show that will reignite your sense of wonder.
Even before we enter the blue-and-yellow Big Top, Cirque du Soleil’s temporary home at Flemington Racecourse, the Montreal-founded entertainment company’s irresistible brand is omnipresent.
Fronted by a bloke singing through a megaphone, there’s a roaming brass band fully decked out in Cirque du Soleil merch. They actively engage with arriving punters, serenading us with a medley of bangers including Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes and Valerie (popularised by Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse).
Then while making our way to our seats, we must dodge a coupla popcorn-throwing clowns. Another clown targets ladies with immaculate hairdos, using a turbo leaf blower to hilarious effect.
If you’re thinking, ‘Ugh, clowns,’ think again! This international trio comprising Mark Gindick (USA), Miguel Berlanga Madroño (Spain) and Duncan Cameron (Canada) break the clowning mould.
Their cheeky, singsongy choruses of “SOOOOO-RRY!” – which routinely follow mischievous acts – crack us up every single time. Shout-out to Shane Jacobson (aka Kenny), who is randomly selected and dragged up on stage to ‘audition’ to be king this evening.
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At the top of the show we meet The Innocent (Kazakhstan artist Alexander Yudintsev), a childlike, kite-flying character who later flaunts his Cyr Wheel mastery. The Trickster (Australia’s own Mitch Wynter) soon materialises, immediately impressing with his effortless, acro dance moves while luring The Innocent into KOOZA’s fantastical new world.
Vocalists and a live band are housed in ‘The Bataclan’, masterfully designed by Stéphane Roy. Throughout the show, this highly decorated, multi-level backdrop – which was inspired by Hindu culture and Indian jewelry – glides around the performance space, opening and closing to reveal the gifted artists who supply these captivating sounds.
On a rotating platform, Mongolian Contortionists (Sunderiya Jargalsaikhan, Ninjin Altankhuyag and Sender Enkhtur) make us squirm as their bodies pull impossible shapes, often in perfect unison. Wait, are they actually boneless?
The graceful, romantic Duo Unicycle Duet – featuring married Ukrainian couple, Anastasiia Shkandybina and Dmytro Dudnyk – unfolds like a beautiful love story. There’s audible gasps when Shkandybina takes a seat on her husband’s head while he continues to circle around the stage on his unicycle. Talk about abs of steel!
The Double Highwire act sees two acrobats riding bikes – 25 feet in the air and connected by a pole contraption on their shoulders. Soon another guy perches on a chair that’s been carefully placed on this pole. It’s breathtaking stuff.
Atop a precarious, seven-metre stack of unsupported chairs, Chinese artist Yao Deng Bo balances in a one-arm handstand.
The Wheel Of Death performers – Jimmy Ibarra Zapata (Colombia) and Ivan Zhernakov (Russia) – are fierce and fearless. They even skip ropes – WHAT the ACTUAL? Then one acrobat jumps from the top of the outside of the apparatus as The Wheel continues to turn beneath his airborne feet and we truly fear for his safety. This is perhaps the showiest act of the night, during which we suspect a stumble was faked to remind us of the risks they’re taking – sans safety net.
High-flying teeterboard acrobats attempt – and nail! – increasingly difficult feats. “No WAY!” We screech in unison as a stiltwalker starts bouncing on the trampoline ahead of a complex, mid-air tumble and perfect landing.
This production curates 56 artists across 32 nationalities. Fittingly, identity is a recurring theme. Since we’re aware that many of these extraordinary artists are far from home, diaspora seeps through everything Cirque du Soleil does.
KOOZA will awaken your gleeful inner child. During the standing ovation, we’re ready to take on the world. Don’t make the mistake of thinking, ‘Oh, but I’ve seen Cirque du Soleil before.’ Your soul will thank you. Watching elite, multi-disciplinary athletes performing death-defying stunts just never gets old.
KOOZA plays under the Big Top at Flemington Racecourse until 19 July.
