Rant and Rave: Cirque Du Soleil’s Saltimbanco

Rating: 2.5/4.0

After a successful stint with Varekai last year, Cirque du Soleil returns to Manila and its eagerly awaiting fans with the usual bright costumes, spine-tingling stunts and cheeky clowns in Saltimbanco.

Just as its predecessor had done before, Saltimbanco offers its Filipino audiences with the chance to once again because immersed in the world that Cirque du Soleil creates, one riddled with fantasy, colors, trapeze artists and juggling acts just to name a few.

As entertaining as Saltimbanco is, however, it lacks the usual Cirque power that leaves audiences nearly dangling over the edge of their seats, screaming for more. Cirque du Soleil is known for tying together acrobatics with storylines and meanings subtly hidden in the costumes, the music, the lighting, the characters and the performance.

With that being said, the ‘storyline’ was not as depth defying as the acts were, with some audience members asking one another what the plot was in hushed tones. Although the acrobatics were nearly pitch-perfect, there seemed to be certain predictabilities with each passing act. Saltimbanco managed to draw audiences into the show (both figuratively and literally) but failed to make them wanting more.

In spite of all of this, Saltimbanco still manages to deliver a show well worth one’s three hours. The show leaves audiences just as twisted as its characters with grown men and women bent over their seats completely convulsed in laughter and teenagers nearly jumping in their seats with glee. However, a word of caution to parents bringing their children: as family-friendly as Saltimbanco is, expect your little ones to abandon any previous job aspirations of becoming a doctor or a lawyer in favor of wanting to join the circus.