Errisson Lawrence © 2015 Cirque du Soleil
Jose here. While worldwide audiences wait for the impending Avatar sequels, the folks at Cirque du Soleil are aiming to quench their thirst with a new spectacle called Toruk - The First Flight, which bills itself as being “inspired by” the James Cameron film, but feels more like just another chapter in what’s become a “universe”. Imagined for those who maybe don’t like video games, are too passive for amusement parks, and have deep admiration for the human body, the show is a two hour long arena extravaganza in which Pandora comes to life in “real life 3D”.
Avatar borrowed elements from films like Pocahontas, Dances with Wolves, Fern Gully, and to an extent some of Cameron’s own oeuvre (Aliens star Sigourney Weaver was two seats away from me and was always the first to applaud, during a particularly complex sequence she held both her hands near her face and sighed in relief when the acrobats gracefully pulled it off...
Yes, at one point the show became me watching Sigourney watch Toruk); similarly, Toruk - The First Flight, pays homage to theatrical elements that are well known in popular media (the boat from Phantom, the music from other Cirque du Soleil shows, the puppets from War Horse and The Lion King, Blue Man Group! Or is that low hanging fruit?) In fact it’s a famous theatrical device that kicks off the plot of the show, as two courageous Na’vi warriors are asked to collect five items in order to avoid the obliteration of their sacred Tree of Souls.
Errisson Lawrence © 2015 Cirque du Soleil The Sondheim-ian search is an excuse for the warriors to visit different tribes within the planet Pandora, all of which highlight a specific skill of the Cirque du Soleil troupe. One world is devoted to silks, one to percussion, another to trampoline jumping etc. But in this structure the show also runs into the mistake the film did which is it completely relies on the romanticizing of the exotic. The Na’vi communicate in their native language (without supertitles) which means we are left to imagine what they’re saying based on their body movements and reactions, or at its most cringe worthy, we listen to a Na’vi narrator who learned English explain what exactly is going on. At its best moments it feels like a peyote-infused National Geographic documentary, at its worst it feels like whitesplaining.
In the seven years since the film came out, audiences have become more vocal about appropriation and how different cultures are showcased in the media, which makes Toruk - The First Flight, strangely dated, but also extremely modern in its execution (just like the film!). There is an added layer since audiences are invited to participate in the show using their cell phones, which can become anything from ancient souls to hungry wolves’ eyes, can it be that the next incarnation of Peter Pan on Broadway will demand we pull our phones out to bring Tinkerbell back to life? Shudders. However seeing Pandora come to life at the Barclays Center in NYC was nothing short of spectacular, strange flowers bloomed, waterfalls appeared were there’d been a volcano before, and the moment the floating islands from the film rose, elicited a collective gasp in the audience. Directed by Neilson Vignola and featuring puppets by Patrick Martel, set and prop design by Carl Fillion, and otherworldly lighting by Alain Lortie, Toruk - The First Flight is a show that demands to be experienced, although as with most blockbuster endeavors, it raises the ethical question of whether technological advancement can be appreciated when it tramples on cultural legacies.
Toruk - The First Flight is now touring North America.