Joyous! Alegria – Cirque du Soleil, Royal Albert Hall, London. 03.02.24
For the second year in a row, our circus crew gathered and headed down to the Royal Albert Hall for this year’s Cirque du Soleil performance, Alegria. Billed as the most iconic Cirque du Soleil production, I was expecting great things.
If you have seen Alegria previously, this spectacle might look a little different. This is a reimagined version to be shared with a new generation of Cirque du Soleil fans. Originally running from 1994 to 2013, it was brought back to mark the show’s 25th anniversary in 2019 and has been touring ever since.
However, the story remains the same: At the heart of a once-glorious kingdom that has lost its king, Alegría witnesses the power struggle at play between the old order and the youth in strive for hope and renewal. As the court jester clumsily tries to take the throne, a growing desire for change emerges from the street to defy the status-quo and bring joy to the world.
The title is taken from the Spanish word for happiness or joy, and it is certainly a joyous show. That joy can be largely attributed to the underrated stars of the show, the clowns, Pablo Gomis Lopez and Pablo Bermejo Medina. Generally speaking, I am not a huge fan of clowns (I’d go as far as to say they sometimes give me the heebie-jeebies), but these two were firm audience favourites, and mine too. Their blundering elicited many a belly-laugh, and yet at the same time their friendship had some surprisingly moving moments.
Aside from the clowns, there were constants in Mr. Fleur, the comedic court jester brought to life by Eric Davis, and the two singers – one in black (Virginia Alves) and one in white (Irene Ruiz Martin). Both singers are incredibly talented, with haunting voices that gave me goosebumps.
What I hadn’t clocked before this visit, was that the acts rotate between shows, something I only realised when I spoke to another friend who had attended on a different date and saw acts we hadn’t, such as the juggling and hula-hooping (bit gutted to have missed the latter!).
Still, we enjoyed some truly impressive acts. First up was the acro poles, with the Aristocrats bouncing between poles that are traditionally used for pole vaulting, and finishing with a human tower where the final man was balanced by his hand on another’s head.
Next up was the cyr wheel, with one of the Bronx acrobats spinning across the stage at dizzying speeds, performing complex gymnastics inside a huge hoop.
My favourite acts of the show came from some very gifted ladies, who performed the hand-to-hand and hand balancing/contortion acts. I could only watch in awe as Darina Mishina bent herself in half whilst balanced on her hands. The strength of Daria Kalinina and Daria Guryeva as they balanced on each other’s limbs was gobsmacking. As a circus student I can only dream of being able to twist my body into the shapes all three acrobats achieved.
A staple of several Cirque du Soleil productions, we were treated to some stunning trapeze, trampoline track, and aerial strap performances. Alexis Nicolas Trudel and Catherine Audy had the audience gasping as they flew through the air, hanging on to each other’s hands or necks.
As with all Cirque du Soleil shows, there is a huge cast of artists and a massive creative team who work exceptionally hard to put on the spectacle before us. It would take pages to list them all, but they are all a credit to their professions.
Both the set and costumes do a terrific job in differentiating between the grandeur of the royal court and the deprivation of the streets. Most impressive is the Crown at the back of the stage, made up of 120 spikes, 64 branches and vines that are 975 metres long. The curtain beneath it, printed in one seamless piece, is over 33 metres wide and 6 metres tall. It is truly a work of art.
It is easy to see why this production is so well-established in the Cirque du Soleil repertoire. It is a classic power-struggle story, which works in all of the death-defying stunts you would expect to see. As usual, it was an absolute pleasure to watch.
The Alegria tour continues in Italy and Spain; dates and details can be found here.
Next up at the Royal Albert Hall from Cirque du Soleil is Corteo, from January to March 2025. Tickets can be purchased here. I’m off to get mine!
