In OVO, Cirque Du Soleil deliver a performance full of spectacle with incredible acrobatic set pieces, bright costumes, and a loose plot centred on a quest to retrieve a mysterious egg.
Cirque Du Soleil has cemented itself as the world’s premier circus company, redefining the circuses of days of old with lions, a tent, and some silly clown antics to create groundbreaking theatre with coherent narrative and characters, strong theming, and some of the world's best athletic performers sharing the stage. OVO is currently undertaking a world tour stopping off in Glasgow. The show is a celebration of the insect world with set pieces focussed on the movements and vibrancy of the animals.
Some of the vibrant set pieces include the troop replicating Scarabs in a Russian Cradle routine whereby the performers soar above the sky. Through impressive strength and control, they caught other performers when they were thrown a distance of 6 meters. This delivers audible gasps from the audience. Another highlight includes a high-speed diabolo routine with a gradual increase to four high-spinning spools reaching the very tops of the staging. The show concludes with a brilliant Trampo Wall routine with crickets jumping and running onto a vertical wall. This is mesmerising to see and is an epic way to end the performance.
The show works so well in the arena setting with its large cast and large-scale sets and sequences. Sitting at the front makes you feel part of the show with performers walking amongst you, whilst further back allows you to take in the scale of the spectacle. Special mention has to go to Liz Vandal’s excellent costume design bringing to life fully the various insects and allowing them to be big and vibrant.
The main criticisms are really within the plot running through of finding The Yoyager's egg, or OVO. Although having nice moments and comedic clowning, this often feels like filler and wouldn't be missed if it was removed.
Cirque Du Soleil continues to be the standard for excellently crafted circuses. With multiple shows running around the world, including several residencies in Las Vegas, OVO is your opportunity to have a taste of Vegas, a little closer to home.
This show has been rated ★★★★
Cirque Du Soleil OVO runs at OVO Hydro until Sunday, before continuing its tour. To book tickets visit: https://www.ovohydro.com/events/detail/cirque-du-soleil