A Must See: Cirque Du Soleil IRIS-A Journey Through The World of Cinema

I consider myself a huge theater buff, and ever since I was a little girl I have been enamoured with live theater. I adore going to see a fabulous stage show that transports you to another world and takes you on a magical journey through story, song, characters and amazing performances. Well, Cirque Du Soleil IRIS, the new resident production at Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California is all that and so much more!

This inspired new production is a lyrical, fanciful, kinetic foray into the world of cinema. IRIS conjures up a place between motion and picture, light and sound, that shifts constantly between reality and make-believe, to explore the limitless possibilities of cinema. By combining dance, acrobatics, live video, filmed sequences and animation, the show takes spectators on a fantastic voyage through the history of cinema and its genres, taking them into the heart of the movie-making process. From illustration to animation, black and white to color, silent films to talkies, fixed shots to swooping camera movements, spectators witness the poetic construction/deconstruction of this art as an object and as a way of transcending reality. IRIS is written and directed by French stage and film director, artistic director, dancer and choreographer Philippe Decouflé and took about three years to bring to the stage.

This show was so mind blowingly spectacular (I keep replaying it in my mind), it is hard to put into words, but I will try. This show has all the visual spectacles that you have come to expect from a Cirque Du Soleil show like the mind boggling contortionists

However, IRIS has something more. It brilliantly weaves and the theme of cinema to tell a story, the characters become parts of the cinema, the sets also come to life and tell this the story too. A wonderful example of  how they brought this to life in IRIS is in the ingenious blending of costume, character and the technical inventions of cinema in the half-human/half machine ‘hybrid’ characters pictured below

Another amazing use of old world Hollywood, was the hotel scene in which acrobatic performers dressed as gangsters bounced, flipped, and scaled a variety of buildings to look like they were flying and brawling with one another-incredible to see and difficult to describe. You must experience this live

I was the most enchanted and amazed by the use of a film strip as a set, scenario and story telling backdrop. It was used in two different parts of the show, once here to show the vintage silohuettes of women in a building = what a gorgeous visual!

And the other time the film strip was used in the show was with about eight frames connected by doors and the performers would do the same movements in each box as though you were watching a film in motion, crazy brilliant!

There was so much going on in this brilliant spectacle of a show, I could see it again and again, never get bored and constantly discover something new. It was that good! If you live in LA or plan to visit anytime soon, this is definitely a MUST SEE show that you do not want to miss!

Cirque Du Soleil IRIS will be the permanent resident show at the Kodak Theatre 6801 Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood, CA