Cirque du Soleil

We went to see OVO, one of the current traveling productions of Cirque du Soleil, the other night.  I've seen Cirque on several prior occasions, and as always, this did not disappoint.  The clowns were not so good, unfortunately, but the acrobatics more than made up for that.  In particular, a set of jumping, rock-wall climbing, green-clad artists put on a performance that brought the house down.

Interestingly enough, I had gone two weeks earlier to the La Jolla Playhouse with Sarah, to see a show called Aurelia's Oratorio.  It is very hard to describe - a one-woman, one-man performance piece that was a series of vignettes, with acrobatics, magic, and wizardry.  It was quite beautifully presented.  The star is a woman named Aurelia Thierree,granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin; the show was created by her mother, Victoria Thierree Chaplin.  Since it is so hard to describe, here's a good review of the same show at the Berkeley Rep.


What is interesting is that Victoria Thierree Chaplin's Cirque Bonjour, Cirque Imaginaire and Cirque Invisible are often viewed as the inspiration for Cirque du Soleil.  So I saw her Oratorio, and then Cirque du Soleil, close together but sheerly by coincidence.  And they were totally enjoyable on both counts.