I had heard of Cirque Du Soleil for many years and have always wanted to see one of their shows but never got the chance. Their famous shows have toured the world for over 30 years now! Their shows cover different themes and there are as many as 20 productions active at any time. Nick and I were invited to the opening night of the Amaluna show at the Royal Albert Hall on Thursday night. You are not going to imagine how excited I was about this invitation. I was really looking forward to it.
The weather forecast said that we were going to have heavy snow around the time we would be travelling to the Royal Albert Hall. I love snow and my girls were really happy about it but at the same time I was really worried about our journey as its the kind of weather that can bring London, especially public transport, to a standstill.
As it happened, we did have lots of snow on our way. The transport, in general, was very slow that evening but despite this we were able to arrive just in time and get into our seats literally as the show was about to begin.
I have never been to the Royal Albert Hall before. It really is a beautiful, gorgeous venue. Our seats were at the top in the Upper Circle. I was worried that we might not be able to see very well being that high up but we were actually able to see very well.
This was actually the second time that Cirque du Soleil’s ‘Amaluna’ show has been to London. The show originally toured here in January last year and following its success it has returned by popular demand, beginning with a star-studded opening night for the charity Oxfam. The purpose was to raise awareness and money for Oxfam’s work supporting women living in extreme poverty around the world.
There was a red carpet with Olympians, TV stars, musicians and other celebrity personalities attending the show. We were really excited to be invited along with these celebrities.
Amaluna – The Story
Amaluna invites the audience to a mysterious island governed by Goddesses and guided by the cycles of the moon. Their queen, Prospera, directs her daughter’s coming-of-age ceremony in a rite that honours femininity, renewal, rebirth and balance which marks the passing of these insights and values from one generation to the next.
In the wake of a storm caused by Prospera, a group of young men land on the island, triggering an epic, emotional story of love between Prospera’s daughter and a brave young suitor. It is a love that will be put to the test as the couple face numerous demanding trials and overcome daunting setbacks before they can achieve mutual trust, faith and harmony.
Amaluna is a fusion of the words ama, which refers to “mother” in many languages, and luna, which means “moon”; a symbol of femininity that evokes both the mother-daughter relationship and the idea of goddess and protector of the planet. Amaluna is also the name of the mysterious island where this magical story unfolds.
A tribute to the work and voice of women
This is the first time that Cirque du Soleil: Amaluna features a cast that comprises a majority of women, with a 100% female band. ‘Amaluna’ is a tribute to the work and voice of women. This is a show with women at the centre of it. They are the heroines of the story. This show also has some classical influence from Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
The show is spectacular. Every single detailed is amazing. The story was really interesting and the acts were mesmerising. The whole scene was fantastic. It is definitely the best acrobatic show that I have ever seen. There was an act that involves water and for me was one of the highlights of the night.
They also brought some fun, with its own style of ‘clowns’. I have not seen clowns like this couple but I must say that they made me giggle!
I really liked the idea of having live music accompanying the acts. The music was intense and moving. It felt contemporary and the best part was that it was played live by a band of women! This for me was brilliant as I really enjoyed how it added to the spectacle of the show. I was transported to the island of Almaluna via their music.
The show has an intermission of 20 minutes where we were able to go for a drink and something to eat. They were selling popcorn, so even though I found it super strange to be eating at the Albert Hall, I had some, LOL!
The show this year features two new acts not previously seen in the UK: Banquine and Unicycles. Both acts were fantastic! The show runs until the 26th February 2017. You can buy tickets from £49. You can find more information from their website.
Have you been to a Cirque Du Soleil show before? Have you seen ‘Amaluna’? What do you think of it? Do you like the circus?
*Disclosure: We were invited to the opening of this show at the Royal Albert Hall for the purpose of this blog post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We were not allowed to take photos during the show. The photos were provided by the PR.
Thanks for stopping by,
Love you all ❤️
Franca 💋
What a wonderful sounding evening! It sounds like an amazing show to watch.
Stevie x
What a wonderful experience for you both.
Looked and sounded amazing.
The Royal Albert Hall is definitely a building I would love to visit.
The National Federation Womens Institute Annual Meeting is held there some years, it Is in Liverpool this year. My mum did go to The Albert Hall as deligat for Polesworth Women’s Institute years ago, all members wore hats to go there then.
I was gutted we couldn’t go to this. Looks like an amazing event and a great date night 😉 #KCACOLS
Nadia – Scandimummy x
we were here that night too – I was in awe, so amazing! Glad you enjoyed it too. Such a treat to go to the Royal Albert Hall x #KCACOLS
Oh really? If I would have known we could have met! What a shame! But yes, it was amazing! We loved it! X
Cirque is something I have always wanted to see. One, because I’m a Performing Arts teacher and I think it looks spectacular in all performance areas. Two, because my nieces both trained as Acro gymnastics (one still coaches) and there are a couple of gymnastics from their club that are now in Cirque! Very jealous of your visit.
#KCACOLS
It certainly looks like an amazing show, I would love to see one. I have been to the Royal Albert Hall, but it was about 20 years ago, such a beautiful building.
#KCACOLS
This looks wonderful. I have always wanted to see Cirque du soleil and the Royal Albert Hall is such an amazing venue. £49 is a lot of money though… At that price, I doubt I will get there. Thanks for the review Franca. I am glad you and Nick had a lovely evening. Pen x #KCACOLS
We love Cirque – it’s the one show we all do together (tho 5 tixs are bankrupting). Even the teen likes it, so worth it. They come to Oz almost annually, so I think I’ve seen 10 or 12 shows…always makes you smile tho. #KALCOLS
I would love to see a Cirque dr soleil show, looks amazing. I didn’t even realise the Albert Hall would have room for them! #kcacols
Cirque du Soleil is amazing to watch, we saw it at the Royal Albert Hall a couple of years ago and the kids were all so impressed, it did end up a very expensive trip though as Clio and Theo were clowning around in Kensington Gardens beforehand and landed in the lake. Buying 2 sets of clothes in Kensington wasn’t cheap! #KCACOLS
Oh no! Such a bad luck! I can imagine how expensive was around that area! Glad you also enjoyed the cirque! We were amazed about it! Thanks for commenting Fiona! 🙂 x
Wow! What an amazing place to watch Cirque Du Soleil! What a great treat for you!
Looks amazing. I’ve always wanted to see Cirque du Soleil, I wish I lived nearer as imagine it’s even more amazing in the Royal Albert Hall x
#KCACOLS
I’ve seen Cirque Du Soleil a few years back in Birmingham. It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen! For one part they picked some one out the audience to help and guess who they picked!? Me! Was a night I’ll never forget. If you get the chance to go you totally should! #KCACOLS
Sounds like you had an amazing evening, and it looks like an incredible show. I love how it celebrated women too, such a great idea. x #KCACOLS
Thos looks incredible. Glad you had a lovely time! #kcacols xx
This show looks wonderful! We were lucky enough to see ‘Ka’ and ‘Michael Jackson: One’ both Cirque Du Soleil shows when we went to Vegas a few years ago. I was completely memorised by both shows and would love to go again. The Royal Albert Hall is a wonderful venue – I have been going to concerts there since I was a child and love it! #KCACOLS
We went years ago to the Micheal Jackson show in Vegas. I was way to tired and hungover to really enjoy it I think.
I was so excited to see that you and Nick were there. It looks fab. Isn’t Cirque du Soleil just the best and so different. And your first visit to the Albert Hall too – amazing, such a beautiful building. We are bg fans – we see ‘O’ in Vegas on our first wedding anniversary trip and Dralion at the Albert Hall. Unfortunately, it’s not a regular outing but reserved for special occasions. I would love to see another sometime.
Whoops #KCACOLS
I love Cirque and the royal albert hall is such a great venue for it! As a gymnastics coach and ex-gymnast myself, it is my all time fav performance to go and see! I’m so jealous as I don’t think I’m going to get there this year! Xx #KCACOLS
It’s been nearly 19 years since I seen the cirque at the Albert hall. I must go back again. My brother in law and his girlfriend has tickets and were pulled out of a show to watch our kids when I went It labour with the last one. I remember feeling a bit guilty about it, ok only a bit guilty. Looks like you had a great time. #kcacols
That looks amazing! I’ve wanted to go see them for 13 years, one day it will happen! Have to say I’m quite jealous! Glad you had fun, and I love that it was a show of women. #kcacols
Wow that looks totally amazing! I would love to see it! #KCACOLS
This sounds amazing! I was never fussed about Cirque du Soleil, despite people raving about it – it just didn’t appeal. But we booked tickets for a show while we were in Las Vegas, purely because there was nothing else I fancied seeing, and it was absolutely stunning! I love how they create such a captivating story, and the Royal Albert Hall looks like the perfect venue for it! #KCACOLS
Oh wow I’ve always wanted to see a Circe du Soleil show, they always look amazing. This one does too and in the royal albert hall – AMAZING VENUE!! Looked like a great night. x #kcacols