Cirque Wannabe

Last Friday Jon & I went to watch James Thiérrée's Au Revoir Parapluie at Sadler's Wells Theatre. One critic commented:

"An exhilarating and magical piece of theatrical invention" - Sunday Times

Really? I was sitting there with my head on my hands wondering why this guy spent all this money to put up this show. What was the point? Heh, yes, Jon joked that I was being critical ;) But really!! If you've watched Cirque du Soleil, this would pale greatly in comparison. Maybe I've an uneducated eye, but to me at least, I didn't see the point. It seemed like a wispy storyline strung together for the sake of showing off their "innovative" movements and ideas (though some seemed to be Cirque inspired), showing off what physical skills they had. Even the type of songs sung had a similar feel to Cirque's Allegria! And this singer was no where near as good!

"Acrobat and clown, poet and magician, James Thiérrée creates a world of endless invention which allows your imagination to soar."

Well, I don't think my imagination is that bad...In fact I think I've got quite a good imagination, but to me the show just plonked. Ok lah, to be fair, their physical abilities are quite impressive...they are very strong, but they lack grace when dancing. Cirque acrobats have this extra gracefulness in their movements. More polished. But of course as Jon says..how much did we pay for the ticket? Heh..compared to Cirque's price..it's like 1/3 or 1/4 the price?

So yes, I felt it was very Cirque wannabe. I must bring Jon to see Cirque du Soleil!! The REAL THING! ;)