Touring Cirque du Soleil show Varekai started its run in Victoria’s Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre last night, and it started with a bang. I’ve seen my fair share of ballets, plays, and musicals, but this was my first encounter with Cirque du Soleil, and I have never seen anything like it. My mind was blown.
Varekai is set in an enchanted forest with a plethora of mystical characters; as soon as the lights went down, the audience was transported to this magical land. The atmosphere that was created was impressive, with hundreds of lights on their own scaffolding, a beautiful set with a narrow pathway through trees hanging high above our heads, and, of course, the musicians who play and sing live.
The character actor we were introduced to first was odd. Some kind of primitive engineer creature with plants growing from his pants had a skit where he was trying to capture noises and destroy them. His face was so expressive and he utilized his body to the full potential so that anyone in the audience could understand his intentions, even though he did not speak a single word.
Then, of course, the circus performers came out and really reminded us of the physical strength that humans can possess. They were each dressed as some different bright-skinned enchanted forest dweller; none of them much resembled Earth’s animals. Some were swinging from the aerial silks, holding on with nothing but their neck or the tops of their feet. Others were propelling themselves into tremendous leaps. No matter what they were doing, the awe in the audience members around me proved that these performers were doing things we’ve never even dreamt of.
Just when I started to get comfortable, the show changed pace and brought on two more comedic character actors. This dynamite duo was absolutely fantastic and brought the massive crowd to laughter every time they walked on stage. From their crappy magic-show performance to pranking each other, they got chuckles every time, and I could not wait to see what they were getting themselves into next.
My mind is still buzzing from everything I saw; I cannot stop smiling. I did not expect to experience magic last night, but I got to be in another world for a little while, and it was wonderful.
Cirque du Soleil: Varekai
Various times, daily until Sunday May 31
$45-155
saveonfoodsmemorialcentre.com