REVIEW /// “VOLTA almost undone by a vague narrative”

The latest Cirque du Soleil show has one of those vaguely suggestive, peripatetic titles: Volta. But it could just as easily have been called It Gets Better.

That’s the intended spirit behind the lavish, scattered show, which feels like equal parts bullying parable, Hunger Games homage and Project Runway challenge.

The conceit is that we’re watching the live taping of a reality series called Quid Pro Quo, in which contestants representing different sections of the audience compete for the title of “super elite.”

Waz, the QPQ host, is a rather glum figure who’s trying to come to terms with his present-day fame and a past that included being teased for having blue feathers on his head instead of hair.

The subsequent show can be seen as Waz’s attempt to reclaim his inner child – quite literally, since a mini Waz takes him through past chapters of his life. But, as anyone who’s seen one of the multi-million-dollar Quebec company’s shows knows, all of this is really an excuse to showcase a bunch of jaw-dropping spectacles.

These include a skipping rope sequence on steroids, a WTF sequence in which a woman is suspended in the air by her hair (ouch!) and an updated version of the old guys-jumping-through-hoops stunt.

Cirque, which has always seemed like a classy, Euro-chic take on Barnum and Bailey’s, has never pandered to a younger audience before, but perhaps it senses its core audience is aging out.

So much about this show – from its reality-show motif to the synth-pop score to the extreme sports feel (not one but two BMX sequences) to multiple, meaningless selfie moments – feels calculated to woo a younger crowd. And the fact that several sequences feature two or three stunts going on at the same time – the most bizarre being a bike sequence juxtaposed with a ballet scene – should appeal to a demographic used to multitasking.

The acrobatics this time around are fine but not mind-blowing. What is mind-numbing, however, is the narrative. It’s not clear how Waz connects to the narrative; the main star of the show seems to be his sidekick, a clown named Shood Kood Wood who has a lot more personality and gets featured in at least three big set pieces.

And some characters, particularly a tie-dye-clad woman on roller skates, lack a sense of purpose. The show’s theme might be that things get better, but Cirque has done much better before.

{ SOURCE: Toronto Now | https://goo.gl/RLmwnN }