No time for clowning around
Mike Newquist , president of Cirque du Soleil ’ s Touring Shows Division , discusses the challenges of moving a production team consisting of people from 27 countries around the world while coping with soaring costs
Cirque du Soleil ’ s Corteo
Words : Christopher Barrett
The pandemic hit Cirque du Soleil hard , leading it to lay off 95 % of its workforce , some 4,679 people , and file for bankruptcy protection in Canada . “ I never thought in my life that within 48 hours , I [ would go ] from a billion dollars of revenue to zero revenue ,” Cirque du Soleil ’ s former CEO Daniel Lamarre later told the FT .
The Montreal-based business is now back in action with shows taking place globally . Its recovery in the UK kicked off this year with a lengthy run at the Royal Albert Hall with Luzia .
The focus is now on Corteo . Having attracted a worldwide audience of more than 9 million people since it first premiered in Montreal in 2005 , Corteo made its UK debut in July at The O2 arena ( cap . 20,000 ).
As part of a European tour , the show will return to the UK in October for five-night runs at Manchester ’ s AO Arena ( 21,000 ), the OVO Hydro ( 14,300 ) in Glasgow and Birmingham ’ s Utilita Arena ( 15,800 ).
The show ’ s story is centred around an elderly clown , who on his deathbed reflects on his life while finding the energy to burst into playful action in between the extensive cast ’ s gravitydefying acrobatics . It is Cirque ’ s usual hallmark blend of breath-taking acrobatics , a beautiful stage set up and family-focused fun .
Behind the scenes , though , there is no time for clowning around . In
a post-Brexit and post-pandemic market coping with soaring costs and crew shortages , Cirque ’ s Mike Newquist is responsible for the tour ’ s operations , logistics and revenue strategy .
“ Arena tours like Corteo , where you are moving venue week to week , and in our case country to country , have logistical challenges , and then there is the rising cost of transportation , labour shortages ; everything is different from pre-pandemic ,” he says .
Including artists and staff , the touring crew consists of 117 people from 27 countries , with 100 local crew and technicians employed at each location . While significantly less sizeable than Cirque ’ s big top shows , which take 90 trucks to transport , Corteo requires 25 .
With around 200,000 people having seen Luzia at the Royal Albert Hall earlier this year , Newquist says the buzz around that run helped set up the Corteo tour and ticket sales have been strong , despite prices having been raised to reflect increased costs .
Mike Newquist with a few of the Cirque cast
“ There is a balancing act , you can ’ t just raise ticket prices for the sake of it but there is a cost involved in doing business and ticket prices have had to rise with inflation ,” he says . “ Once we get into a market we really see the demand pick up as the word-ofmouth spreads and people talk about the production . What we are seeing with Corteo is a really great reception and strong ticket sales .”
Looking ahead , Newquist says the focus is on bringing a new big top show to the UK that will involve cutting-edge technology : “ We are looking at a new big top tour next year , and how we utilise tech to really immerse the fans more in the show production .”
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