Quidam is currently in
London at the
Battersea Power Station, where
Cirque du Soleil will be building a permanent showroom next year. The
show is perhaps CdS's best blend of
act and
theme, with the acts serving and extending the theme (most notably the
aerial contortion in silk routine, in which a
woman costumed as
nude writhes in a billowing
red cloth hanging from the ceiling) rather than merely serving as a break from the
random characters running around. I saw Quidam twice back to back in
London (my third and fourth times) and was interested to notice
mistakes both nights--something one seldom sees in a show so tight they call a
rehearsal for a dropped
juggling ball.
Lead
clown John Gilkie has been replaced by a black actor playing the same character. I saw Gilkie first, so I'm poisoned, but I have a
fundamental ethical problem with Cirque's habit of purchasing characters created by others and re-casting them. Sure, Gilkie's making
money, but isn't
clown supposed to be about
exploring your inner fool?