Cirque de Soleil's Saltimbanco

The Brief

When Cirque du Soleil's latest show 'Saltimbanco' toured across Australia, Showbiz worked with Fourth Wall Events to come away with them and create an unforgettable and exclusive environment for the Tapis Rouge (VIP) element of the tour. The challenge was to design a space that was uniquely Cirque yet could tour easily and be adaptable to numerous different size and shaped spaces.

The Approach

Cirque du Soleil has an incredibly unique style and is world re-known for it's creativity in design and performance. Fourth Wall Events had to create something that was representative of their brand and gave guests that total cirque escapement package.

The experience was hospitality space for guests to experience before the show and at interval, therefore food and beverage was an integral part of the event. The design was based around a culinary carousel which housed platters of canapés; this became the centre piece for the room and a focus for the guests as soon as they entered the space. Also designed were unique 'split image' curtains of popular cirque performers, with the way the images were split into strips and hung with sparkling lighting backdrops meant that the audience got to interact with the image as they moved through the space.

Naturally guests needed somewhere to sit and rather than just have them sitting on regular bar stools Fourth Wall Events designed 'bubble ball fountains' which featured colour, movement and a fun area for indulging. Everything was modular and could be used in total or as stand alone or even cut down elements so it could fit into any space with ease whlst still retaining the design and atmosphere. Fourth Wall Events visited every location across Australia during pre-production for site visits as well as for each and every installation and removal, designing Cirque du Soleil entry archways, star lit drape corridors, flame effect lighting and decadent chandeliers that toured across the country.

The Results

Many thousands of excited guests experienced the design and unique atmosphere that was created specifically for this tour and for each space (and flawless production logistics and planning that got it there) night after night for many months without skipping a beat.

Cirque Head Touring Creative Management liked some of the elements so much they even requested to take them on the road with them and back to head quarters in Canada, and the group are looking forward to collaborating with Showbiz again on the next extravaganza.