KÀ Cirque du Soleil

'KÀ' succeeds on strength of its production

Staff Report

"KÀ" is a saga that follows the adventures of two Imperial Twins (a male and a female) who become separated during a siege of their Far Eastern palace by evil warriors.

Except for an opening comment by an announcer setting up the story, there is no dialogue in the 90-minute production.

But Cirque's fan base is international -- one that includes many languages. Dialogue in one language would almost automatically exclude large numbers of potential ticket-buyers.

And so they rely on action to tell their story, creating Cirque du Soleil's first action-adventure show to rival any Hollywood blockbuster.

The $165 million spent on the theater and the show was money well spent. It is an experience you will remember for a long time, almost as if you were part of a multi-million-dollar motion picture.

Technology is the star of "KÀ" -- a floating stage that appears and disappears, becoming at different times a mountain, a beach, a palace or a battleground; the wheel of death; a delightful cast of puppets (actually humans in suits that turn them into crabs, turtles, snakes and other creatures).

There are many memorable technological moments in the production: an underwater scene; a battle that takes place on a vertical field yet gives us the illusion that we have a bird's-eye view of the conflict; spectacular fireworks.

And of course the acrobats. What's a Cirque show without acrobats? The cast of "KÀ" performs some of the most spectacular stunts of all the Cirque productions.

But for all of KÀ's technological marvels some of its greatest moments are the quiet ones -- Shadow puppets created by human hands and campfire light, a romance between the imperial prince and the daughter of one his captors.

From passionate stunts to soulful human interaction, "KÀ" finds away to touch all aspects of the human heart.