Cirque Eloize iD Reloaded at Milton Keynes Theatre Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Janine Rumble
Last night, I sat on the edge of my seat for 75 minutes watching the awe inspiring and incredibly talented cast of Cirque Eloize iD Reloaded dance, perform gasp inducing, hide your eyes in fear death defying circus skills, contort, juggle, skip, bounce up walls from trampolines and everything else in between. It was one of those nights where you leave the performance with your mind blown with their amazing skills and wishing that you could do some of the things that they did.
Cirque Eloize, presented by Dance Consortium and directed and curated by Jeannot Painchaud, is an amazing amalgamation of dance and circus and is full of adrenaline. I was in awe of how the cast managed to perform in the same high octane way through all 75 minutes without missing a beat and without letting the energy drop, especially Alexia Medesan, the contortionist and aerialist, who was on stage the entire production.
The show is set on part of a street in the middle of a busy and bustling city. This was cleverly illustrated with the help of a graffiti artist spray painting on a box in the corner of the stage and with each stroke of the spray can, a new part of the city backdrop was lit up to reveal the city. People began walking and running to and fro, to indicate the busyness of the street. Then suddenly, it all stopped and two people emerged onto the stage, one, a male dressed in blue, the other, a female dressed in orange, they meet, they gaze longingly at each other, before being interrupted by two gangs.
One gang in orange, one gang dressed in blue, then the battle between the two gangs begins, they dance around and at each other, the dance simulating the fight between them. It is all very reminiscent of West Side Story, but then come the acrobatics, Kayden Woodridge on the Chinese pole had me closing my eyes and gasping in horror as he threw himself up, down and around the pole, I was so scared when he moved from the top of the pole to near the ground, face first at speed, what a talent. The sail work, the rings, the juggling, the bike tricks, all continuing to tell the love story and the battle between the two rival gangs until the final pinnacle.
Throughout the show, there is audience interaction, which is great fun, with cast members coming out to interact with the audience. My favourite part was watching the very talented Trevor Bodogh performing stunts on his trail bike, including jumping up onto the stage from the audience seats and then performing his stunts over the top of an audience member laid down on the stage, I must admit, my heart was in my mouth watching this.
The stage is very simple, with metal rigging to represent buildings and objects for the cast to use. Props were simple too, boxes for the cast to dance on and around and for the trail bike to jump from one to the other. Chairs that were danced on and then stacked, climbed and balanced upon. Balls for juggling, JP Deltell is not your average juggler, such skills. Christophe Bate on straps and the Cyr wheel, amazing strength and dexterity and then all the dancers were brilliant, showcasing a range of urban dance music, hip hop, breakdance, b-boying and b-girling and so much more.
The soundtrack, composed by Jean-Phi Goncalves and Alex McMagon was loud and the beats were intense, perfect alongside all of the action on the stage. The behind the scenes team also need a shout out, especially the ones controlling the rigging when the cast were performing their aerial feats. Without their support, the aerial feats would not have looked as impressive. The teamwork that goes on between the cast and the crew was there for all to see. Such a phenomenal show.
It really was a great night. After the show, there was a Q and A section with three members of the cast. They talked about how they came to be in the company, what got them into dance or circus skills, how they train for the shows and then they took questions from the audience. It was really good to see the passion and the dedication they showed to their incredible craft and this added section, added more to the show.
I give this show 4.5/5 stars for being such a great show and for the phenomenal talent of all the cast. If you are a fan of dance and a fan of the circus, then I recommend you get tickets to this show.
Rating: 4.5/5
Cirque Eloize is on at Milton Keynes Theatre tonight, Saturday 11th October, before moving onto Alhambra Theatre Bradford from Tuesday 14th-Wednesday 15th October and then Hull New Theatre from Friday 17th-Saturday 18th October. Tickets for each of the theatres can either be purchased from https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/cirque-eloize or from the theatre’s websites or box office. Tickets start from £15.00.
More information about Cirque Eloize iD Reloaded can be found https://danceconsortium.com/touring/cirque-eloize-id-reloaded-2025/