A Review of Zed

I had never been to a resident Cirque show, so I was ecstatic when the opportunity arose for me to go to ZED in Tokyo. My biggest problem: it was nearly impossible for a less-than-perfectly-Japanese-literate foreigner to obtain tickets to this show in advance, but that is a rant for another time, another blog.

Set-Up
Zed is a staged show, in a theater built specifically for Cirque. Cirque puts a lot of grandeur into some resident shows (like O and Ka) so I expected good things from the stage. The stated plot of ZED is something like "a character named Zed goes on a journey". I didn't really get a journey vibe and Zed's Harlequin nature made him hard to relate to. He was all over the place. There was a sub-plot of two clowns who got sucked into a story-book world of sky and earth creatures, which had a better continuity to it. We'll call that the plot. Put together, the introduction of these three characters displayed the fantastic staging that really set off the show. As the clowns fall through their story book, they preface the unexpected illusions found in the show. It was paralleled a moment later when Zed falls from the ceiling of the theater to create my favorite, heart-stopping illusion in the entire show.

The Acts
* Batons - When done by itself, it was too small on a stage that was too large. It didn't really help maintain the initial sense of amazement and wonder set-up by the introduction. However, this act was repeated in conjunction with a few of the other acts and was an amazing complement to them.
* Bungee - While not a complicated act, the staging and costuming did everything to make this act fantastically enjoyable. In a sea of stars, four fish-birds, with pale, blacklit tail feathers fell from the ceiling. They each used the scraps of fabric on their legs to make beautiful illusions and give each bird its own personality.
* Lassos - This act ramped it up. Sharing the stage with pole based martial artists, these lasso spinners started off with all of the usuals. They kicked it up a notch when they started using the lassos as jump ropes, doing acrobatic skills while leaping above, under and through rows of 3-4 lasso spinners.
* Poles w/ Trampoline - The idea was a underused. I expected more gravity defying, like in the trampoline+wall act. They threw some interesting tricks, but it was almost all pole. The finale fell short of wow. They also had a bunch of aerial hammock people just above them, distracting me without doing anything impressive.
* Tissue/Silks - See my rant about not pushing aerials in Ovo. It was pretty but needed more personality or more dance. They overused the lift, moving the silk up and down without moving side-to-side or spinning. It was just up-trick-down. Again, and again, and again.
* Wire - A solid act, but not as good as Ovo. A burning pendulum was added for suspense, but they never got close to it and when they did, it was obvious that it was never a threat. It made the whole thing a bit gimmicky, closer to the spectacle ways of old circus.
* Juggling - The first part was clubs and a bit flat, with a few drops. It got better when they brought out the metal plates. The fire section was also impressive, partly because the fire staff wielders and the baton twirler filled out the background for a complex pattern of moving fire.
* Banquine - A lot of the skills from past shows, but still well done. A few new towers. My favorite part was the illusion of a girl walking on air as she moved smoothly from base to base. The choreography had good flow.
* Straps - A fifty-fifty performance. Half was interesting, half was completely blah. There were a few moments which conjured images of Lillian Leitzel as they swung around their wrist loops high above the stage.
* Hand to Hand - Not Cirque's finest hour. It was way too slow for the audience. I know performers who can do three times as many tricks in that same span of time while maintaining the image of slow.
* Flying Trapeze - Great energy. It felt a little short on time and variety. While typical, you cannot deny that flying trapeze is a crowd-pleaser. It helped that they had two so we didn't have to wait as much for set-up.
* Charivari - This was the ending. Unlike the awkward, disjointed ending of Ovo, this ending was strait up inspiring and moving. Performers flooded the stage, doing all sorts of skills and tricks relating to their acts. A great note to end on and probably my favorite Cirque scene to date.

Overall:
It's disconcerting that this is the second recent show where I thought the clowns had a few problems. They felt a little inconsistent and not quite expressive enough. I didn't like Zed (the character). I had no idea why he reacted the way he did to everything around him. While the theme was less consistent than Ovo, the world was magical. Illusion played a big part and played it well. I liked the music for this show. Unlike my companion, I liked it more than Ovo. It felt a little fresher.

ZED (the show) is up there. I definitely liked it. The highlight of the show was the staging, design, and some of the costuming. The continuous attention to detail and illusion makes it a delight for all ages. Almost every act had a bit of illusion. I think my favorite thing about ZED is that it embodies several of my own views on circus: acts do not have to repeat the same skills in the same way, simple details can make things fresh and exciting. ZED doesn't have an in-door pool or a non-stage for a space, but it uses effective design to fill out the world and make the audience smile. In the end, that's really the important thing.