Cirque de Soleil has not one but two huge treats for UK fans this year. As well as the recent Alegría at London’s Royal Albert Hall, there is also the upcoming UK tour of the popular show Ovo.
The Canadian circus maestros haven’t brought the eco-based extravaganza to our shores since 2018 and the major tour will kick off, rather appropriately, at the Ovo Hydro Arena in Glasgow on March 24. Full details about dates and tickets across the entire run below.
Cirque de Soleil are constantly innovating and expanding their repertoire and this will be an “updated” version of the production which became their most-watched show in the UK when it was here last. You can read my original review of Ovo below.
OVO 2018 REVIEW: If you don’t like insects, look away now. If you like having your breath taken away by jaw-dropping displays of beauty, power and freakishly flexible bodies, then this is the show for you.
What’s more, I have never heard so much laughter mixed in with the gasps and involuntary profanities from a gobsmacked Cirque du Soleil audience. The inevitable clown interludes don’t always translate for UK audiences, but this show mixes silliness and style, thrills and (no) spills to dazzling effect.
The set-up introduces a foolish fly who is carrying a huge egg (hence the show title) and falls for a coquettish ladybug. A kalaedoscopic array of insect and bug life interacts with the prat-falling pair, punctuated with ever more daring feats of spectacular virtuosity from the word-class cast.
There was a dynamic dragonfly, twisting and contorting his body (and spine) is ever more eye-watering shapes. Romance and a rush of exhilation comes from above as a pair soared and spun across the huge vaulted dome as beguiling butterflies.
Suspended over the stage on an enormous frame, the massed muscle of the ubiquitous Russian and Ukranian strongmen flung their female gold-plated scarabs through the air to ever-louder gasps from the audience.
A daredevil spider risked stealing the entire show in a high-wire act beyond belief. Before a stunned and silent crowd he ended up upside down balancing his forehead on a unicycle and pedalling with his arms.
Scroll down for the full list of Ovo UK Tour dates next.
A female troop of ant tumblers demonstrated fancy footwork as they tossed giant kiwi fruit (and each other) to open the show. Their male cricket counterparts closed the night with a crescendo of explosive tumbling across the floor and up the enormous 8-metre wall, using huge trampolines to propel themselves ever higher.
It all ended with a giant party on stage, the fly and ladybird united and thousands of gob-smacked humans struggling to believe what they had just seen.”
CIRQUE DE SOLEIL OVO UK TOUR 2024:
OVO HYDRO, GLASGOW from 21-24 MARCH
AO ARENA, MANCHESTER from 27-31 MARCH
FIRST DIRECT ARENA, LEEDS from 4-7 APRIL
M&S BANK ARENA, LIVERPOOL from 11-14 APRIL
UTILITA ARENA, BIRMINGHAM from 25-28 APRIL
Tickers are on sale now at: www.cirquedusoleil.com/ovo
