BLENDING BREATHTAKING acrobatics with sophisticated lighting, alluring costumes and live music, Cirque du Soleil wowed Hong Kong audiences with the stunning shows Alegria (in 1996) and Saltimbanco (in 2000).
Now the troupe is going for the hat-trick with Quidam, which tells the tale of a young girl's flights of fantasy in search of paradis perdu, the lost paradise of childhood. More scripted than the previous two shows, the production was first staged in 1996 and is the brainchild of Cirque's creative force Franco Dragone. Artistic director Marie-Helene Gagnon says her biggest challenge is to maintain the integrity of the original show - while keeping it fresh and relevant to 21st- century audiences - and, at the same time, integrate new performers.
'The overall narrative is still the same,' Gagnon says. 'But over the years, there have been modifications to the acts, as we always strive to improve. The arrival of new artists also gives us the opportunity to do some tweaking as they bring with them a different set of skills.'
Hi-tech tweaks include the installation of overhead conveyors to move artists on stage or into their aerial positions without cables obstructing the audience's view. One of the clown acts was completely modified last year to make it more interactive. Now, American clown Voki Kalfayan plays a film director (a cross between Groucho Marx and Peter Sellers), pulling four unsuspecting members of the audience on stage and casting them as a handsome leading man, a blushing leading lady, her jilted suitor and a chubby clapper-board man.
'We used to have a traditional-costume clown act, with the pink tutu, the red nose, and an august clown dressed in white and sequins,' says Gagnon. 'After a tour in Japan, we decided to change. Now the clowns are a little more urban, with a more 'destroy' attitude.
'It's more rock'n'roll - with attitude. I think a young girl in a city nowadays wouldn't dream about a white clown as much as the kind of street performer we now have. Sometimes, keeping it fresh just means making a small change. You don't have to redesign the act. You just make a little change in the choreography - maybe a change in the exit.'