The Cirque hits town

If Cirque du Soleil were a rock group, it would be a stadium-packing, platinum-record selling, tightly-managed boy band.

The Canadian outfit, in London last night for the eighth time in as many years, is a superslick, super-safe operation, with lavish sets, eye-popping costumes, amplified music, light effects, roadies, riggers, trademarks, merchandise, and performers that have you oo-ing and aah-ing at their balance, grace and precision.

This year's production is Dralion, a newish show that closely follows the familiar Cirque formula: take a dozen-or-so acrobats, add audience-friendly clown routines, and then stir in some new-age, old-world flavour with themes like destiny, journeying, and the human values that unite us all.

Dralion has all this plus Oriental myths, dragons and lions (hence its title), plus African, Asian and Andalusian elements. It is really a cultural pick and mix, a hint of Lion King here, a bit of Bollywood there, plus African dancing, Western balletic moves and almost all Chinese acrobats.

Things start with three Marx Brothers-style clowns haranguing the audience. They are genial lunatics with mad hair and a nonsense language somewhere between pidgin English and crazed Italian drivers. The trio do a brilliant job of scaring the audience who sense someone will be dragged on stage. And they are right. A man is hoiked from his seat, although he's obviously a plant.

Still, the joke is well done, as is the flasher gag where the small, timid clown ties a camera to his trousers, and then exposes it to the audience. Also good is the scene where a fat clown looses his few strands of hair and the trio mime the Last Post in its memory.

Then comes two singers, one a dead ringer for Bonnie Tyler, the other a falsetto Barry White. And, finally, after a bit of a wait, come the acrobats, most very good, some truly dazzling.

The hoop diving routine was among the best, with 12 tumblers jumping, somersaulting and backflipping through hoops, sometimes on their own, sometimes two, three and four in a tier.

The juggler was also good, as was the aerial pas de deux, a stunning piece for two acrobats swirling and twirling their way up and down two giant ribbons.

The double trapeze was equally impressive, with two couples swinging to and fro, the men chucking the tiny women through the air more like jugglers than acrobats.