On Monday, October 7, 2019, Cirque du Soleil gave us a sneak peek at Cirque du Soleil 2020, an all new touring show set to premiere on April 23, 2020 under the big top at the Old Port of Montreal, written and directed by renowned artist and stage designer Es Devlin. Today, January 30, 2020, Cirque du Soleil announced the name of the show as UNDER THE SAME SKY.
ABOUT THE SHOW
In Cirque du Soleil UNDER THE SAME SKY, the audience will be touched by uplifting acrobatic choreography, startling physical theatre and moved by the vibrant musical score, all infused with the warmth of human interconnection. This new big top experience invokes the power of the human performance and communal experience which remain at the heart of all Cirque du Soleil creations. It is a meeting of visual art and human performance, a hymn to the vibrant communal experience that only a live show can offer. Cirque du Soleil invites fans to meet under the big top to share the experience of this new surprising and joyful live gathering.
While staying true to its roots in astonishing human performances, Cirque du Soleil’s 51st original production and 20th Big Top show will bring a bold new visual approach to the Big Top. Vice President of Creation, Daniel Fortin, explains, “In working with iconic visual artist Es Devlin to lead this new creation, we are committed to making a strong and absolutely distinctive creative statement in 2020. This show marks not only the start of a new decade, but also an exciting new era for Cirque.”
Through Devlin’s exceptional creative lens, high-level acrobatics will be woven within a striking and disruptive visual universe. Spectators will be touched by uplifting choreography and startling physical theatre, and moved by the vibrant musical score, all infused with the warmth of human interconnection. The show’s visionary approach will wow fans with monumental kinetic geometry glowing with vibrant color and light, bringing Cirque du Soleil on an exciting visual journey.
“Our intention for this show is to surprise the audience with something that is bold, daring and visually exciting, a fresh creative take on what we are.” says Creation Director Chantal Tremblay.
Writer, Director and Set Designer, Es Devlin explains further: “At the roots of Cirque are exceptionally skilled humans performing at the limits of what is humanly possible. There are no words, no text. But the strongest story is understood: 2000 people all willing someone not to fall. It’s a potent communal experience, a travelling tent full of 2000 strangers, all realizing at once that when it comes down to falling or flying, we all want the same thing.”
Cirque du Soleil invites fans to meet under the big top in 2020 to share the experience of this new, surprising and joyful live gathering, a hymn to the vibrant communal experience that only a live show can offer.
WHO IS ES DEVLIN?
Renowned visual artist Es Devlin lives and works in London. Her multidisciplinary practice spans solo sculptural exhibitions in London and Miami, avant-garde theatre in New York, experimental opera in Vienna, iconic stadium pop shows and Olympic Ceremonies in London and Rio. Devlin’s practice originated in small scale theatres in London, progressed through The Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal Opera House, and onto global opera houses, the Metropolitan Opera, New York and La Scala, Milan. She has conceived large-scale touring shows with Beyoncé, U2, Adele, The Weeknd and Kanye West as well as collaborations with the theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli and the actor Benedict Cumberbatch. Her practice was the subject of the Netflix documentary series Abstract: the Art of Design. Amongst her many current projects, Devlin is designing the UK Pavilion at World EXPO 2020.
WHO IS PART OF THE CREATIVE TEAM?
• Yasmine Khalil — Executive Producer
• Dan Fortin — Vice President, Creation
• Gabriel Pinkstone — Producer
• Es Devlin — Writer, Director and Set Designer
• Chantal Tremblay — Creation Director
• Lucie Janvier — Production Director
• Nicolas Vaudelet — Costume Designer
• Jade Pybus — Composer
• Andy Theakstone — Composer
• Daniel Cola — Human Performance Designer
• Jaque Paquin — Acrobatic Equipment Designer
• Lynne Page — Choreographer and Collaborating Director
• John Clark — Lightning Designer
• Jacques Boucher — Sound Designer
• Jérôme Delapierre — Projection Designer
CREATIVE TEAM SKETCHBOOK
A CREATIVE SNEAK PEEK
Tickets are on sale now!
• Montreal, QC — April 23, 2020 – June 21, 2020
• Boston, MA — August 29, 2020 – September 27, 2020
