Cirque du Soleil's Varekai Wows Manila!

After seeing the first billboard for Varekai a couple of months ago, I swore to myself that I wouldn't let the opportunity of seeing world class Cirque du Soleil performers pass me by. And I'm glad I kept that promise because I can't even begin to explain how awesome this afternoon has been.

Varekai is a re-telling of the fall of Icarus. Instead of plunging into the ocean, he finds himself in a lush forest surrounded by strange creatures. Here, he finds love and eventually learns to fly again with the help of his new friends.

Well, at least that's what Wikipedia says the story is about... it is pretty hard to tell since majority of the plot is sung in Romani and your only clue to the plot is what is currently happening on the stage. Some may see this as a negative but I think it helps in adding to the mysteriousness of the show. It also allows their audience to have their own interpretation of what is happening on stage.

Plot aside, the death-defying stunts and seemingly impossible contortions were beyond spectacular. At one point, I actually felt my heart drop when I thought one of the performers fell off the swing. Imagine my relief when it turned out to be part of the act. They truly have a way of engaging the audience enough to feel the danger of their performance without actually putting them in harm's way.
 

My favorite stunt scene was at the very end where the characters are celebrating the wedding between Icarus and the girl. The Russian swing act was just mind-blowing! A close second would be the Icarus hanging from the net scene.

But for the characters, I like the magician/singer guy and his assistant. Each scene they were in was really funny and entertaining even if they were a lot different from the other characters on the show. If you watched the show, you'd notice that the magician guy is wearing a different costume in the clip below.

The tickets may be on the expensive side (our seats were worth 5,500 pesos each) but it is well worth the price after seeing those world class performers take the stage. Souvenirs are also available but they are very expensive so I just settled for a souvenir program for 200 pesos.

All in all, Varekai is a brilliant show that is great for all ages (maybe not babies or toddlers though since a lot of them got frightened at the beginning of the show). It is a definite must watch and I've already set my eyes on watching a Vegas Cirque du Soleil show one day. :)