Totem Tickets

The internationally renowned Canadian circus company Cirque du Soleil has a long history of astonishing audiences and creating once-in-a-lifetime experiences with their dazzling acrobatics, unbelievable stunts, and gracefully choreographed storytelling. The famed company returns to their annual home at the Royal Albert Hall each year with their spectacles, and this year’s offering,”Totem,” is no less spectacular.

“Totem,” one of the company’s highest-selling engagements in a long tradition of jaw-dropping productions, hinges on the conceptual narratives of myth and legend. “The Independent” calls the troupe of performers in this extravaganza a “melting pot of different cultures united by their love of performing and bound by the camaraderie that they have for each other.” The show explores the various stories we pass on through different cultures and different generations to explain the origin of humanity and of life itself. After a successful run in 2011, “Totem” arrives in London once more with its stunning aerials and high-flying trapeze, and whether you’ve seen it before or are new to the adventure, the production has guaranteed wow factor.

What to watch for

“Totem” is a massive production on a grand scale. For each venue, 80 trucks are required to transport the 1,000-tons worth of equipment in order to set up the production.

The show requires multiple screens with perfectly timed projections and intricate lighting design to establish the “settings” of each mythological recreation. With advances in technology, some projectors are even designed to move on cue with the performers’ choreography.

Cirque du Soleil is often thought of as “beyond” circus. The company was born from a bigger movement in the ‘90s to elevate the genre into an art form, though no other company rose to the level of fame and prestige. The original writer for Cirque’s famous Las Vegas show, “Kà,” Robert LePage returns to create “Totem.”