What to know
- Cirque du Soleil’s Luzia opened in Toronto on June 18.
- The production runs under the Big Top at Ontario Place until Aug. 30.
- The show features a cast of performers from 26 countries.
- Audiences can expect acrobatics, aerial acts, contortion, juggling and soccer freestyle performances.
- After Toronto, Luzia heads to Ottawa and Vancouver.
As the city is swept up in World Cup soccer, some other top athletes are thrilling viewers under a blue and white Big Top.
Cirque du Soleil’s Luzia opened June 18 in Toronto’s west end (2150 Lake Shore Blvd. W) and, like any of their touring shows, confounds with its cast of super humans — from an astounding contortionist as flexible as a licorice rope, swing-to-swing acrobats who defy gravity, aerialists as effortless as us lounging on a couch, and, yes, soccer freestylers.
The Toronto run ends Aug. 30, then moves on to Ottawa (Sept. 10 to Oct. 18) and Vancouver (Nov. 4 to Dec. 13). Tickets are available here. There is parking onsite or use SpotHero for cheaper options (my find was less than $8)
Written and directed by Swiss-born Daniele Finzi Pasca, who also did Cirque du Soleil’s Coreto, in association with Canadian Brigitte Poupart, Luzia is “a waking dream where light (“luz” in Spanish) quenches the spirit, and rain (“lluvia”) soothes the soul,” according to the press description, as well as an “escape to an imaginary Mexico – a surreal world suspended between dreams and reality.”
Clearly, Pasca and the onstage cast of a reported 47 performers from 26 countries have a deep understanding of the plot and their character, but it’s always hard for the viewer to follow. But…it doesn’t matter at all. The skills, costumes, set, and live music are the reason to go. It truly is remarkable.
Spoilers ahead
In essence, a skydiver lands in this topsy turvy world with a cast in costumes, such as cacti, birds, snake, beetle, armadillo, monarch butterfly, and even a giant horse and jaguar. The settings range from a wavy ocean to dry desert and rambunctious saloon.
There are segments with hoop diving, aerial straps, cyr wheels, adagio, juggling, hand-balancing, soccer tricks, and all manner of flips, twists, leaps, and other jaw-dropping feats — especially contortionist Aleksei Goloborodko, who evokes a mix of wows and winces, as he rounds his limbs, back and head.
In between, there are scenes of comic relief and Latin American music (composed by Canadian Simon Carpentier) because a central recycled water feature needs to drain and the floor mopped. All done by people in character, of course.
Cirque du Soleil was dreamed up in 1984 in Baie-Saint-Paul, Quebec by Guy Laliberté and Gilles Ste-Croix, and over 42 years more than 378 million people have attended 50-plus productions in 86 countries.
Luzia first came to Toronto 10 years ago and is Cirque du Soleil’s 38th production. A five-part behind-the-scenes reality show called Cirque Life debuted in March on CBC and can be seen on-demand on CBC Gem, but don’t watch it until you see it. It will spoil the experience.
