Quidam to shine for Seoul on last tour
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The Statue sequence from Quidam where two acrobats perform in gravity-defying poses / Courtesy of Mast Entertainment
By Yun Suh-young
For Korean and global audiences alike, this will be the last opportunity to enjoy the unusual yet astonishing acrobatic performance of “Quidam.”
International circus troupe Cirque du Soleil is coming to Seoul on its final world tour of “Quidam”, which is one of the nine touring performances offered by the troupe.
Having toured five continents and staging 6,200 performances before 13.8 million spectators over the past 20 years, the troupe has visited almost everywhere possible.
"Quidam has been everywhere we could bring it," said Jessica Lebeouf, public relations manager of “Quidam”, explaining why the show is coming to an end.
"We felt it was important to bring it back here because it was such a success back in 2007. We're stopping in Seoul on the way to Australia and New Zealand."
"Quidam," which means "anonymous passer-by" in Latin, is an acrobatic performance with a plot of a girl who falls into an imaginary world through a rabbit hole (quite like “Alice in Wonderland”) where she meets bizarre characters to entertain her. “Quidam” shows how the society turns into a hopeful and harmonious world from a marginalized, anonymous one.
Scenes from acts Clown Cinema and Aerial Hoops from Quidam / Courtesy of Mast Entertainment
"I think we're all Quidams, basically,” said Jean Heon, marketing director of “Quidam”. “We take the subway, and we're nobody. We never meet someone we know.
"Quidam is an eye-opener, giving a message that we should all care about each other."
The show, which premiered in Korea in 2007, was a huge hit at the time, attracting 170,000 people.
This time around, the show will be performed at the Big Top theater, which is a performance hall created inside a tent.
"The Big Top is a venue that the audience can feel more intimate with the actors," said Kim Yong-kwan, CEO of Mast Entertainment.
"For the past five years, the troupe had been only performing in arenas _ large theater halls. This time, they will be performing back inside the big top before they end their world tour."
The show features acts such as “Statue” and “Cyr Wheel” where, in the former, two acrobats perform gravity-defying poses, drawing exclamations from the audience and, in the latter, an acrobat spins and turns a giant wheel as if the artist and the wheel have become one.
Like the catchphrase of the circus, impossible is "only a word" for these performers.
The show opens on Sept. 10 and runs through Nov. 1 at the Big Top Theater inside the Jamsil Sports Complex in eastern Seoul. Ticket prices range from 60,000 won to 250,000 won. For more information, call 02-541-6236.