After working for Cirque du Soleil for almost 15 years, Fabrice Lemire knows that the visual flair, dramatic music and acrobatic derring-do are what resonate the most with audiences even though the troupe considers each show’s storyline its essential guide.
Lemire, the artistic director of “Echo” running Nov. 5 to Jan. 21 at Atlanta Station, said the new show is about the bonds between animals and humans and is inspired in part by the work of environmental activist Greta Thunberg.
“It’s about the human race and the impact on everything we do,” Lemire said.
“Echo” created by author-director Mukhtar Omar Sharif Mukhtar, tells the story of a girl named Future and her dog as they encounter an enigmatic cube that opens up future communications and leads to a plan to rebuild the planet.
Credit: Jean-François Savaria
Credit: Jean-François Savaria
That cube, designed by renowned artist and stage designer Es Devlin, is the production’s wow factor, weighing 12 tons and taking up the space of a two-story apartment building.
Lemire said the cube allows “Echo” to showcase its theatricality with modern twists.
“The cube is very imposing on the stage,” Lemire said. “There is beauty here. It evolves, and you can change the landscape with projections. You don’t know if it’s light or heavy — if it’s going to fall on you. It’s complex. There’s something great about all the possibilities of a piece of scenery that is in your face. This is a new way of using technology under the big top, and it is phenomenal.”
This piece of scenery houses the opening number “Symbiosis Acro-Dance of the Animals” as some of the show’s central figures meet one another. At one point later in the production, 40 artists find themselves on different parts of the cube.
Credit: Jean-François Savaria
Credit: Jean-François Savaria
Outside of the spectacle of the cube, Lemire said that thrill seekers will appreciate the show’s 13 acts. One crowd favorite will likely to be the “hair suspension” duo Charlotte O’Sullivan and Penelope Elena Scheidler, who portray fireflies representing hope, beauty and grace. Hair suspension means the two women are literally held only by their hair as they perform aerial tricks and feats.
After creating the act during the pandemic and premiering it in Berlin and Russia, the two joined Cirque last year and perform it up to 10 times a week.
According to Scheidler, who visited Atlanta recently for a performance preview, preparing for the act takes some time: at least 20 minutes of wetting her hair, using various creams and complicated methods to get it show-ready and then warming up, stretching and getting the rest of her body ready as well. Scheidler, one of 52 cast members, is also a contortionist backup.
Credit: Jean-François Savaria
Credit: Jean-François Savaria
The show features some comic moments and is the first Cirque show to use six vocalists onstage. The closing number involves the always-popular teeterboards, seesaw-like devices that performers use to leap and somersault into the air.
The production was set to debut in 2020 as “Under the Same Sky” but was suspended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the creative team was contemplating how and when they could move forward with the show, they knew they needed a splashy return. Lemire felt “a lot of pressure,” he said.
“We knew we needed something unique, something solid that would please a large crowd,” he said.
Credit: Jean-François Savaria
Credit: Jean-François Savaria
Echo debuted in Cirque’s home city of Montreal this spring and is early in its tour, with Atlanta its second U.S. stop.
Lemire, who started his career as a ballet dancer, has also served as the artistic dancer of Cirque productions such as “Quidam” and “Varekai.” Cirque du Soleil, which was founded nearly 40 years ago, was once unique as a humans-only circus but has inspired many others along the way.
“There are many copycats of circus companies,” he said. “You have to be solid with new trends. How do you stay afloat as the leading force in your industry if you are not constantly requestioning what you do, challenging yourself and taking a risk?”
PERFORMANCE PREVIEW
Cirque du Soleil’s “Echo”
Nov. 5 to Jan. 21. Multiple showtimes Wednesday-Sunday. Starting at $54. Atlantic Station, 241 20th St. NW, Atlanta. 877-924-7783, cirquedusoleil.com/echo.
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