Scene It: Cirque Éloize iD... energetic, fun, vibrant!

The phenomenal Cirque Éloize iD amaze audiences with a grungy yet chic adrenaline infused urban jungle themed extravaganza that thrills and delights. With tricks that appear to be absolutely insane in feat executed without safety ropes or nets, this extravaganza directed by Jeannot Painchaud and brought to the Cape Town for the first time by Showtime Management will kick off your festive season on a high.

The performances are next level multi-disciplinary amazing. It will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, in a childlike daze, as the Cirque Éloize iD experience floods your senses with a gritty-beautiful almost poetic mash-up of music, movement, lights and fearlessness as the extraordinarily talented cast zoom, fly and glide across the stage. Four performers took my imagination on an escapism joyride on media night, as they owned the stage with every move they made: Jean-Phillipe Deltell (trampowall, juggling), Dianna Gonzalez (cyr wheel, aerial hoop), Nicole Winter (contortion, aerial silks) and Olivier Poitras (Chinese pole, trampowall) were pure perfection onstage as they showcased their sublime talent to thunderous and well-deserved applause. But the true star of the show for me was the delicately detailed, vibrant lighting design by Nicolas Descôteaux that subtly yet powerfully nudges you into the cirque-dream world.

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It is an energetic, technicolour playground for your imagination that will have you gasping and gawking and at times even watching in awe through your fingers, too scared to look, because you just can’t believe the stunts they pull off! Surely, no normal human being can bend, twist and jump that way?! Absolutely stunning!

At times I also got a bit of a nostalgic déjà vu feeling, as I found myself sensing hints of Singin' in the Rain (city hustle and bustle), Starlight Express (zooming around on roller blades) and West Side Story (dance battle) inspiration that made the show flow effortlessly from scene to scene, but that may just be my musically obsessed mind at play, and it made me love the production even more. Oh, and not to forgot the human pinball "machine" scene that literally makes you feel like you are inside an arcade game. Such fun!

Saying the trampoline-finale is spectacular feels like an understatement. It is an astonishing act that perfectly merges circus showmanship and exaggerated entertainment, and will surely have the audience on their feet every evening until 27 November 2016.

You will leave the Artscape Opera House on a theatrical high, buzzing, totally inspired by the artistry you just witnessed and smiling from ear-to-ear days later still at the memory of this magnificent show. Don't delay, book your tickets at Computicket immediately.