Circue du Soleil’s KA at
MGM Grand in Las Vegas Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To read entire feature for free with photos, visit: http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/shows/vegas/ka/ka.htmlKA, which translates to fire in Japanese and signifies spiritual duality in Egyptian mythology, is story of twins, a boy and a girl, who as youngsters are kidnapped and separated from each other and their family. The show engages a series of epic challenges that these young royals must endure in order to reunite.
A dark, dazzling gothic tone is established moment one enters sprawling 1951 seat theater. Smoke accompanied by blasts of fire light up stage while nimble Ninjas dart and swing from multi-tiered catwalks over and around audience. These characters are primal in their ominous quest. The show begins when an old Asian man with a long, thin red beard makes his entrance. The Ninjas are his warriors and their dark message has already been planted in viewer’s mind.
The Slave Cage.
Breaking new theatrical ground there is no stage as we know it. Instead, there are numerous platforms, sets and incredible technology that enable performers to use vertical as well as horizontal space. A platform carrying royal family and court seems to float forward from back of stage. The evil warriors appear, separating twins from each other and their parents. Sets transform from a stage to a ship caught in a storm. Utilizing abyss on either side of stage, characters are tossed overboard and appear to be swallowed up by roiling ocean water.
Creator and director Robert Lepage describes KA experience by saying, “People will have impression they’re within some kind of cinematic event — but actually everything is interactive, everything’s happening at moment.”
Female Archers.
The magnificent costumes designed by Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt, and props, especially spears and bows and arrows, designed by Patricia Ruel, celebrate aesthetic and colorful aspects of Asian culture. Perhaps most extraordinary innovation is technology that allows entire stage to transform into depths of ocean, a battlefield or a mountain of ice.
