Cirque Bon Bon - Le Retour | JACs Entertainment
Brisbane Festival has a great history of providing opportunities to see spectacular, world class circus performances and Cirque Bon Bon - Le Retour is no exception. The team from JACs Entertainment, former assistant creative director of Cirque de Soleil, Ash Jacks (McCready), and producer Julieann Nugent, have returned with an all new Cirque Bon Bon show for this year’s Brisbane Festival, bringing brought a veritable disco-synth wonderland full of joy, laughs, French accents and dizzying feats of daring to Southbank Piazza.
Image supplied by Brisbane Festival
Opening with a high energy group dance number to wow the crowd, the show did not let up on the laughs, suspense and intensity for the entire run time. A mix of circus, dance and comedy, there was something for everyone in the tightly packed evening. The set and lighting were a treat; with a jewel toned theme and beautifully complemented by the sparkly and colourful costumes worn by the cast. There were as many costumes changes as there were acts and looking for the next beautiful garment was a joy.
This show had a dizzying level of variety and skill shown by the circus performing cast, including Cyr wheel, aerial hoop, straps, hand to hand acrobatics, juggling and roller skating, among others. Every performer was clearly hand selected for their skill, varied performance specialties and, to quote Zoolander, for being “very, very ridiculously good looking”. It’s also a funny show, with the audience rolling with laughter on many occasions. The show is suitable for kids and adults alike, with humour similar to the 90’s TV series Rugrats, where the more adult jokes are quite likely to sail over little heads.
There were so many excellent moments in Le Retour, but one special highlight for me was contortionist and foot archery artist, Shannen Michaela, who performed her spectacular and technical archery act. The crowd was blown away by the scene setting, accompanying epic music, as well as her charisma and perfect execution.
Our host was also quite the memorable character - Mario Queen of the Circus, portrayed by Clarke McFarlane. He continued the shows’ love letter to France, disco style and rock music with his exaggerated accent, constant references to Queen, (his favourite band), and his fabulously 70s costume and handlebar moustache. The audience connection was strongly maintained by McFarlane throughout the night, with several hilarious, audience assisted sequences involving a unicycle, bananas and a singalong - to Queen of course. The crowd was clearly swept along and happy for the interactions, although a little terrified of being picked to come onstage.
Cirque Bon Bon - Le Retour was a wild, joyful ride for both kids and adults alike. With the intention of providing something for everyone in an easily digestible format, a ‘bon bon’ treat box of circus if you will, I’d highly recommend a visit next time they blaze back into Brisbane, probably with Mario Queen of the Circus leading the charge. Singing ‘We are the Champions’ on a unicycle of course.
‘Cirque Bon Bon - Le Retour’ played 18 - 20 September at the South Bank Piazza as part of the 2024 Brisbane Festival.
