Totem

Overview

It is difficult to sing the praises of Cirque du Soleil, when the Montreal-based circus company has been wowing audiences and one-upping themselves since their debut performance in 1984. From a mere 73 man workforce at their inception, the company now has more than 5000 employees, with over 1300 talented-to-the-point-of-inhuman artists. Over the last thirty years the world most esteemed circus company has pumped out over 30 shows, each of the same unprecedented quality.

Totem, the latest episode of the Cirque du Soleil series to hit our shores, is no exception to the company's stellar reputation. The show tells the ultimate story of humanity, tracing the evolution of the human race from its primitive ape days, through the caveman era, and all the way to an intergalactic age with aliens inhabiting earth. Upon entry, the set appears to be a massive turtleshell. It is later revealed that we are following this journey of evolution on this shell-shaped remote island, where tourists are aplenty and the locals are a diverse bunch of individuals to say the least.

Kicking off with an impressive high bar act, where acrobats spin, flip and fly through the air, drawing gasps from the audience when a collision between the two artists seems inevitable, (I'm not sure if they crashed because I closed my eyes in fear/anticipation- but I am guessing they didn't). The opening act is followed by an indigenous looking bloke who flips some hoops around impressively, and my nerves really appreciated the lull in risk factor during his non-life-threatening act.

Stand outs included the incredible bunch of girls who rode seven foot unicycles like it was nobody's business, whilst using their feet to toss tossing metal plates onto each other's heads. Yes, it sounds quite bizarre written down, but you won't even question the logic behind their act, nor how unicycling-plate-tossing could possibly fit into a storyline of evolution when you're busy holding your breath to the point of passing out from anxiety.

Another act that had audiences full engaged was the trapeze duo. You might groan at the thought of yet another trapeze performance at a circus, but Cirque du Soleil has never been one to bore. The company is known for their ability to take all our favourite circus classics and recreate them for each show, into unforgettable phenomena. The trapeze act at Totem was a case and point example of the renowned Cirque du Soleil innovation. A trapeze act come love story with a kind of erotic spin, meant that audiences got all kinds of involved, to the point where there were murmurs of "awww" when the act wrapped up.

I don't want to spoil the show, because you should go and see the show for yourself. But a shout out the  Valentino the clown, who will make even the most dedicated coulrophobic (google it) giggle. Considering the  fact that the company has knocked out 30 odd shows in their time, it is a feat in itself that the act remain fresh and breathtaking. The show is definitely more concerned with wowing the crowds than adhering to the limits of a viable plot, but no one misses the incoherent story, because they're all too busy balancing on the edge of their seats and chewing their fingernails down to the quick.