OVO is perfect show for summer time
YOU can always count on a Cirque do Soleil show to be somewhat spectacular.
But OVO, which is coming to Newcastle in the summer, is in a league of its own and, in my opinion, rates as the must-see show for the end of the school holidays.
The fact it is at the Metro Radio Arena at the end of the summer before the children go back to school is ideal – as this is the most family-friendly Cirque show I have witnessed, and the most enjoyable of its touring productions.
I caught it earlier this year during its stint at the Royal Albert Hall and would urge you to catch it when it is in Newcastle from August 29 to September 2.
It has everything – a great, and easy to follow, storyline, astounding acrobatic and gymnastic feats, bucketloads of humour, wonderful music – and is a kaleidoscope of colour from beginning to end.
Here’s the official blurb: “OVO, meaning ‘egg’ in Portuguese, a headlong rush into a colourful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement.
“When a mysterious egg appears in their midst, the insects are awestruck and intensely curious about this iconic object that represents the enigma and cycles of their lives.
“It is love at first sight when a gawky, quirky insect arrives in this bustling community and a fabulous ladybug catches his eye – and the feeling is mutual.”
I couldn’t have put it better myself and, after watching the extravaganza at the Royal Albert Hall, the following day I went backstage to meet some of the performers and crew doing warm-ups and training.
In the show itself, it’s all about precision and timing, and off stage it is exactly the same. There is a strict call rota and time limit for the cast to do their exercises. It’s easy to see why – OVO boasts 50 performing artists from 17 countries specialising in many acrobatic acts, so everything has to planned to the nth degree.
Having just completed some training for potential new elements in the show, Alanna Baker, 25, from Sussex, who plays the role of the Black Spider, shakes my hand.
She is covered in bruises and her
WHAT’S ON EDITOR GORDON BARR GOES BACKSTAGE AT CIRQUE DU SOLEIL’S OVO, WHICH IS IN NEWCASTLE DURING THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS
hands are very sticky. “Sorry,” she laughs. “The bruises are part and parcel of the trade! As for the hands, I have rosin on them, to stop me slipping when doing the acrobatics.
“It’s hard and you rub it between your hands, it’s kind of sticky. Other people use chalk and magnesium, which is a white block and it powders everywhere. “Every acrobat has their own personal preference, but I prefer the rosin.”
Alanna was crowned gymnastics European Champion in 2011 and won Bronze in the World Championships in 2012. She has been training since she was five years old, travelled around the world with OVO to countries as far reaching as Japan and Australia and is now set for a return to her home here in the UK.
“I’m always trying to improve and grow my act, working on new sequences and adding in new skills. I’m constantly trying to make it bigger and better,” she tells me.
“When I was eight years old I was actually sat in the Royal Albert Hall at my first Cirque show and I said to my parents this is what I want to do when I’m older.
“They told me it was a long shot but to keep training and I could get there. And here I am, 18 years later, I did the full circle and now I’m back to where my love for it all started.”
Alanna in training and warm up is exhausting just to watch – and the same can be said for all the performers. They need to put in the hours off stage for the pay-off on. “I never feel like I am working,” she continues. “It’s my dream job and I’m getting paid to do what I love, and I get to travel the world. I can’t complain. Plus I am amongst a group of people who all have the same aspirations and passion. “It’s so nice to be around so many lovely people with the same drive and motivation.” Tim Bennett, artistic director, is responsible for keeping everything in OVO fresh. “I need to make it feel like it is the first night again every night,” he says. “That involves a lot of different things, from running trainings, to working with the coaches on the aspects of the acrobatic parts, to casting and putting new elements in the show and giving notes about costumes and lighting. “The show is constantly in a little bit of flux and things will be freshened incrementally. Alanna is a great point of reference, actually, as she was in an act that is no longer in the show. “But she was so successful and so talented and skilled that she was able to change into another act and then into another role. She’s changed a few times, but because of her skills we’ve been able to keep her involved in different ways.”
When I was eight years old I was at my first Cirque show and I said to my parents this is what I want to do when I’m older