There was nothing like KÀ on the Strip when the curtain first raised on Cirque du Soleil’s third Vegas production 20 years ago. KÀ stretched the boundaries of Cirque possibilities by offering audiences an action-adventure extravaganza with an abstract narrative that follows a brother-sister pair of twins. It combines fire, fighting, fantastic creatures and a stage that seems to free itself from gravity. It’s like kabuki theater meets Mad Max meets Game of Thrones, in where else but Las Vegas.
KÀ raised standards for set design, makeup and costuming while increasing audience expectations of Strip shows. The concept itself remains the same, but revisiting patrons may notice revisions to the music, pacing and special effects.
KÀ opens, after some precurtain audience interaction, with the scene of celebration on the Royal Barge as the twins are introduced. Performers engage in Icarian Games (acrobatic human juggling) as entertainment for the royal court as well as the audience inside KÀ Theatre. The twins, both having displayed skills in combat, are given gleaming flutes as gifts that they proceed to fight with before their nursemaid quickly brings them in line.
It’s then that the engineering expertise that went into the barge’s construction becomes apparent as it floats and turns before being attacked by archers and spearmen. The twins and nursemaid escape via the next impressive piece of set design in the boat that rocks in a stormy sea. The nursemaid and sister wash up on shore, where they encounter several oversized sea creatures while the brother is rescued by the Court Jester, who soothes the traumatized twin by teaching him shadow puppetry.
Underwater scenes, a high cliff escaped via a high-flying glider that floats over the audience, battle scenes on vertical grounds and rotations on the Wheel of Death are some of the more impressive highlights of the show. The twin sister finds a romantic interest in the Firefly Boy, while the brother is freed from captivity by the Chief Archer’s Daughter. Both are menaced by the Counselor and his son, but in the end good triumphs over evil.
Some of KÀ’s strengths lie in innovative costumes and makeup that make some performers appear exotic, while others appear anamorphic or pulled from the pages of a graphic novel.
The performers themselves are key to the fantasy suspending disbelief in audience members. Trained in acrobatics, wushu and capoeira, among other physical arts, their split-second timing in executing feats, flips and falls are crucial to the show’s success.
KÀ’s silver anniversary is just around the corner, but the 20-year mark is a good time to look back before looking ahead to the future. Many shows have opened and nearly as many have closed, but KÀ occupies a niche that stands little danger of encountering future competition in the fantasy epic realm on the Strip. The twins experience a continuous cycle of celebration, separation, growth and reunion from show to show that could proceed for many more performances and many years to come.
MGM Grand. 702.531.3826. mgmgrand.mgmresorts.com
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