We were given tickets to Le Noir – The Dark Side of Cirque for Sunday night’s performance at the State Theatre, The Arts Centre in Melbourne.

I have been a huge fan of Cirque du Soleil for years, and was really looking forward to seeing Le Noir as many of the performers are from Cirque du Soleil. Tim, on the other hand, has never been to a show like this before. I knew, if Le Noir was anything like Cirque du Soleil then, his mind was about to be blown.

There is no doubt about it … these performers are athletes. Most of the acts in Le Noir are outstanding – all included an element of balance and some made us gasp with fear as the performers defied gravity and physics. Not only were acts impressive, we were also entertained by the audience participation sections. The clown emcee Salvador Salangsang did a great job.

Even though there were kids in attendance, it is not a show I would take mine too. Every act involved some level of undressing, erotic dancing and an intimate embrace at the end. Between acts you could be forgiven for thinking you had stumbled upon a risqué lingerie show, complete with burley body guards. The act’s themselves may be appropriate, but the costumes were, in reality, saucy and there is a fine line between where it would go over their heads and when you would be answering a LOT of questions as to what the performers are (or more to the point, are not) wearing and some of the dance “moves”.

So, if you leave the kids at home, know you are going to see performers in next to nothing, and want to be amazed at what the human body can do then you should enjoy Le Noir. We did. To compare it to Cirque du Soleil is not easy, nor fair. Le Noir is dark. It’s sexy. It doesn’t take much to imagine you are in an underground club in Paris, but first I need to go to the gym!

– Georgina

Le Noir is touring Australia – details can be found at http://www.cirquelenoir.com/

MORE INFORMATION

Venue:  State Theatre, Arts Centre Melbourne

Dates:  Thursday 9 April, 8pm; Friday 10 April, 6pm & 9:30pm; Saturday 11 April, 6pm & 9:30pm; Sunday 12 April, 6pm; Tuesday 14 April, 7pm; Wednesday 15 April,  1 pm and 8pm; Thursday 16 April, 8pm; Friday 17 April, 8pm; Saturday 18 April, 2 pm and 8pm.

Prices: Tickets from $59** (additional fees and charges may apply) Bookings:   http://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au