The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureTheatre

Toruk​ − The First Flight at the O2 Arena

Toruk​ − The First Flight at the O2 Arena | Theatre review
27 June 2019
Catherine Sedgwick
Avatar
Catherine Sedgwick
27 June 2019

Cirque du Soleil delves into new territory with its lavish presentation Toruk – The First Flight, created by Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon, at London’s O2 Arena. Inspired by James Cameron’s epic movie fantasy Avatar – taking us to the land of Pandora – it is a visually stunning, highly innovative multimedia extravaganza with enormous colourful props, huge puppets and phenomenal acrobatics. As a bonus to enhance the experience, a Toruk app is available for viewers to download on their phones.

In dynamic rock concert style, the show opens with an explosion of percussion (Daudet Fabrice Grazai), and the energy never abates as we follow the story of three teenagers on a mission to retrieve five artefacts in order to save the Tree of Souls and rescue the indigenous Na’vi people from Toruk the flying monster.

Gorgeous puppets (Patrick Martel) controlled by the performers dominate the stage – in contrast to the pure physicality of traditional Cirque du Soleil productions. The principal human characters – portraying blue humanoids – speak in the fantasy language of the Na’vi, with occasional forays into English. Plentiful dialogue with microphones is another departure from Cirque tradition. 40 video projectors display the piece, accompanied by breathtaking cinematic sound. Acrobatic stunts are fewer than in previous shows, but are as impressively heroic. Battles are choreographed as forms of dance.

Enhanced by Alain Lortie’s outstanding lighting, superlative effects and imagery abound (set designer Carl Fillion), including video projections of floating mountains, verdant jungles, enormous flowers, giant waves moving across the audience, crashing onto the stage and “flooding” it, a massive island and extraordinary surreal creatures manned by puppeteers. A classic element in the history of slapstick humour – a comedic Monty Python-esque moment features two men inside a horse puppet.

Toruk – The First Flight is actually a prequel to Avatar, and will particularly please fans of Cameron’s film, but is also thrilling in its own right for those who have never seen the movie. Whereas the latter involved humans attacking the non-human indigenous population, here the Na’vi are under threat from forces of nature. With by far the largest collection of puppets in the company’s history, Cirque du Soleil’s latest accomplishment is a superbly entertaining cutting-edge creation, amazing to watch and a feast for the senses.

★★★★★

Catherine Sedgwick
Photo: Matt Beard © 2017 Cirque du Soleil

Toruk​ − The First Flight is at the O2 Arena from 26th until 30th June 2019. Read our interview here. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch the trailer for Toruk:​ The First Flight here:​

Related Itemsreview

More in Theatre

We Ask These Questions of Everybody: An interview with Amble Skuse and Toria Banks

Mersa Auda
Read More

Public Domain at Southwark Playhouse

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Unlimited Festival at the Southbank Centre: Centre stage for diversity

★★★★★
James Humphrey
Read More

RSC Next Generation: Young Bloods proves Shakespeare is timeless

Brooke Snowe
Read More

An interview with Ifrah Ismael: Tales from the Front Line and other stories

Selina Begum
Read More

A Livestream with David Bedella at Crazy Coqs Online

★★★★★
Regan Harle
Read More

Undercover at Morpheus Show Online

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Playing ON: An interview with Jim Pope on life-changing theatre

Georgia Howlett
Read More

Sunset Boulevard at Curve Theatre Online

★★★★★
Selina Begum
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Theatre review

Catherine Sedgwick

Toruk​ − The First Flight

★★★★★

Dates

26th June - 30th June 2019

Price

From £52.70

Links & directions

TwitterInstagramFacebookWebsiteMap

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Female filmmakers lead nominees for the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards
    Cinema
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • An interview with Ifrah Ismael: Tales from the Front Line and other stories
    Theatre
  • Sleaford Mods – Spare Ribs
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Jeremiah Fraites – Piano Piano
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • We Ask These Questions of Everybody: An interview with Amble Skuse and Toria Banks
    Theatre
  • Hello Cosmos – Dream Harder
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Public Domain at Southwark Playhouse
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The unforgettable icons of horse racing
    Tech & Sport
  • Win a copy of Link on Blu-ray
    Competitions
  • WandaVision: Marvel’s charming sitcom proves an astounding success
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Undercover at Morpheus Show Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Ten short literary collections to get you back into reading
    Literature
  • Mayor
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Community Festival returns this weekend with The Kooks, Blossoms, Kate Nash and many more
Spider-Man: Far From Home | Movie review