Fans of Avatar, I suspect this might be just the show for you.
No, I’m not referring to the animated Avatar: The Last Airbender, or its unfortunate live-action sibling, but James Cameron’s infamous CGI epic from the distant past of 2009. If you want a similar spectacle, then look no further than the Cirque de Soleil’s recent production of TORUK- The First Flight, written and directed by Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon, which is available for everyone’s viewing pleasure on Cirque du Soleil’s YouTube channel.
I struggle to praise this production’s creative team enough; in particular, the costume and makeup designer, Kym Barrett, and the set designer, Carl Fillion. When you watch this production, it feels as though you’ve actually managed to poke your head through the screen on your laptop and entered the enchanted world of Pandora. Indeed, the set certainly feels magical, shifting between rivers, streams of fire and the truly mesmerising Tree of Souls without effort. Dare I say, the costumes and makeup look even more real than the, admittedly superb, animated puppets from the original film? Indeed, I do. Everything about the set, the props and, of course, the performers, is constructed to feel as though you have stepped through into an alien world.
“I am the last living member of the Anurai clan. When I connected with Eywa, I heard the voices of our distant ancestors; I hear the time when their lives were threatened. This is that story.”
In terms of narrative, there’s not much more to elaborate on. The Tree of Souls is threatened by destruction and it falls upon the shoulders of one orphaned Omaticaya boy and his adoptive brother to seek out the legendary Toruk and save the Na’vi. There isn’t much of a story, however perhaps this limited plot is the greatest homage that Cirque du Soleil could pay to James Cameron’s original film? Avatar, first and foremost, was about the visual grandiosity and spectacle; two things that are undeniably prominent in TORUK- The First Flight.
It would be remiss of me to not mention the incredible skills of the performers themselves. Beyond the expected feats of awe-inspiring acrobatics which, if you are familiar with the work of Cirque du Soleil, you have probably come to expect, the acting was also superb. I fully believed that I was witnessing intimate alien rituals, or observing the great adventures of our central protagonists. When the performers were afraid, I was afraid. So, congratulations should certainly be offered to the production’s acrobatic performance designer, Germaine Guillemot, and the two exceptionally competent choreographers, Tuan Le and Tan Loc Nguyen.
If you’re looking for a powerful spectacle (and don’t feel like enduring the 162 minute run time of the original Avatar), then I would strongly recommend Cirque du Soleil’s TORUK- The First Flight, which keeps design and grandeur at the forefront of it.
Words by Rhys Clarke.
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