Cirque Eloize iD Reloaded At Bradford Alhambra Theatre Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Jenny Bray
This show brings a unique, lively and dynamic mix of dance, acrobatics and circus skills to the theatre to a background of upbeat dance music brought over here from Montreal, Canada (with most performers being Canadian, with the exception of 2 from America and 1 from New Zealand). There are only 9 performers in the entire show; Adam Dransfield, Alexia Medesan, Bryan ‘Slinky’ Boyer, Christophe Bate, Florence Amar, JP Deltell, Kayden Woodridge, Lakesshia ‘Kiki’ Pierre and Trevor Bodogh. Each bring their own very talented skills to the show.
The show theme is loosely based in a city and begins with two rival groups dance fighting. It’s those in blue or green versus those in red and orange. There are slow motion elements and this scene has pole action, including Kayden making it look like it’s easy to just walk up a vertical pole and hold your weight on it with just one limb! Trevor then made it look like it is straightforward to bounce up and down and all around the stage on different levels on a bike, including jumping around a possibly rather scared audience participant at one point! Alexia and Florence made aerial work including hoop and silks look a breeze too (although I felt dizzy for them when they were spinning fast!).
There were also skipping scenes that involved acrobatics jumping in and out of the ropes, artistic movement from Christophe when balancing on top of multiple chairs or in the cyr wheel and several juggling tricks from JP including multiple balls at high speed. The whole cast are present for the ‘tramp wall’ when a large trampoline is used and they make it look like anyone could just bounce down onto a trampoline from a platform, do acrobatics in mid air and then land perfectly back where they started! Although all the acrobatics, dancing and everything else undertaken must have been physically demanding and required a great deal of skill, they were awesome at making it all look super simple and effortless to do!
Both the Creative Producer/Stage Director, Jeannot Painchaud, and the Choreographer/Assistant Stage Director, Elon Högland, have to be mentioned for piecing together such an impressive show, which links the acts as if telling a story from start to finish with great music that fits really well with each scene. The music was created by Jean-Phi Goncalves and Alex McMahon and is mainly really upbeat urban street music, with just a few numbers that are slightly slower for some dance scenes, particularly when Alexia, the contortionist, is dancing (as well as bending in ways most of us are unable to!).
It kept me hooked for the entire show, but if picking out favourite parts it would probably be the aerial work that Alexia and Florence did, which also made the audience gasp at times (which they also did when Kayden was using the pole), the popping/robot dancing from Lakesshia and the trampolining. I also loved the sheer energy exuding from them all, especially Florence when she was dancing to the music when in the background of others key moments and genuinely seemed to be loving it.
The setting looks industrial and is as simple as it can be while also containing the framework needed to support various acts. The main item on stage looks like scaffolding, while other items are brought on for specific scenes. Once things have been used, such as the pole in the first scene, they then disappear from the stage. The background is a huge screen that has projections of various skylines and streets on to match the performance at the time.
The costumes are simple and also look a little industrial in grey but with sections of bright colours. It was a nice touch that two of the girls also had streaks of colour in their hair that matched the colour on their outfit.
The Alhambra is slightly on the outskirts of Bradford, near to the National Science and Media Museum which has parking by it. It is well signposted, although be aware that they have recently changed some of the roads around it to one way.
Dance Consortium presented this tour and I was pleased to read about their aim to do ‘Greener Touring’, including providing reusable water bottles for the whole company, using Velcro fasteners and not tape on set where possible and utilising local catering resources.
The audience was a mix of ages, with many families with children enjoying the show. It is a show that is genuinely suitable for all ages.
After the show, three of the cast members, Adam, Slinky and Christophe, stayed behind for a Q&A session which the audience were invited to stay for. Questions asked meant they shared details around various topics, including how they first got into dance and/or circus, their favourite parts of the show and training routines.
The show was incredible. I loved everything about it, from the dancing to all the different performances and the music it was set to. It may only have been 85 minutes, but there was a lot packed into that time! I’m really glad I had the opportunity to see one of Cirque Eloize’s debut international tour dates of iD reloaded here in the UK.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £20 to £45
Cirque Eloize iD reloaded is only on at the Bradford Alhambra for 2 days, 14th and 15th October 2025. They then conclude their Uk tour at Hull New Theatre on 17th and 18th October.
For more information or to book tickets for Bradford see; https://www.bradford-theatres.co.uk/whats-on/cirque-eloize-id-reloaded#ticket-listing
For the tour tickets please see; https://danceconsortium.com/touring/cirque-eloize-id-reloaded-2025/book-now/