Cirque du Soleil’s Big Top is returning to Australia with its critically acclaimed and jaw-dropping production of LUZIA, for a 2024-2025 national tour, visiting Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and Sydney. These performances will highlight the 25th anniversary of Cirque du Soleil in Australia.
Written and directed by Daniele Finzi Pasca, LUZIA invites audiences on a surreal escape to an imaginary Mexico, like in a waking dream, where light (“luz” in Spanish) quenches the spirit and rain (“lluvia”) soothes the soul, featuring breath-taking acrobatic performances and the first rain curtain on a touring show
In a series of grand visual surprises and breath-taking acrobatic performances, LUZIA will take Australian audiences on a surrealistic journey through a vibrant world filled with wonders, playfulness and striking artistry.
Smoothly passing from an old movie set to the ocean to a smoky dance hall or an arid desert, LUZIA cleverly brings to the stage multiple places, faces and sounds of Mexico taken from both tradition and modernity.
Rich in awe-inspiring moments, LUZIA enchants by incorporating rain into acrobatic and artistic scenes – a first for a Cirque du Soleil touring production.
“We are thrilled to finally bring LUZIA to Australia and celebrate 25 years of shows with a national tour. We know many Australian fans have already fallen in love with the unique atmosphere of the Big Top and we can’t wait for a new generation of fans to experience our shows in its most iconic venue,’’ said Duncan J. Fischer, President – Touring Shows, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group.
With mesmerising and refreshing acrobatic performances, LUZIA brings traditional and contemporary circus disciplines to a whole new level.
Cyr Wheel artists perform the unprecedented feat of rolling and spinning under the rain, while an aerialist suspended from a Trapeze flies and twirls through pouring showers. Hoop Diving is taken onto gigantic treadmills, expanding exponentially the speed and amount of daring leaps executed.
Jaw-dropping highlights include a male contortionist skilfully twisting his body in the world’s most unimaginable positions, a powerful Aerial Straps specialist defying the laws of gravity at the centre of a cenote (natural sinkhole), a juggler tossing seven pins at breakneck speed, and two football freestylers deftly mixing street dance with mind-blowing ball manipulation.
The 10th Big Top show to visit Australia in 25 years, LUZIA premiered in April 2016 and is Cirque du Soleil’s 38th original production since 1984. More than 4.5 million spectators around the world have already seen the awe-inspiring acrobatics and uniqueness of LUZIA.
LUZIA show travels with a team of 120 people, including 47 artists, from 26 different countries. In total there are 1,000 pieces of costume seen on stage, including 140 pairs of shoes.
“This is the effortless, heart-stopping skill you go to see Cirque for – the times when bigger really is better.” – The Guardian, UK.
Cirque du Soleil’s LUZIA plays Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse from 24 March 2024, before heading to the Adelaide Showgrounds from 9 June, Perth’s Claremont Showgrounds from 25 July, Next to Royal Queensland Golf Club (off Curtin Ave East), Brisbane from 25 September and Sydney’s Entertainment Quarter from 24 November.
Tickets are now available exclusively to Cirque Club members. Cirque Club membership is free and includes access to advance tickets and special offers. General tickets will be on-sale from 13 October 2023. For more information, visit: www.cirquedusoleil.com for details.
Image: Cirque du Soleil presents LUZIA – photo by Matt Beard