★★★★★
Attending Cirque du Soleil has become an annual highlight, but KOOZA this year came with an unexpected upgrade: a front-row seat.
Reviewing a Cirque production is both one of the easiest and hardest things to do. The experience itself is almost impossible to describe. How do you put into words the sensation of watching performers from around the world defy the limits of the human body, often just metres from where you are sitting?
Now in Brisbane as part of its Australian tour, KOOZA marks the 11th Cirque du Soleil production to visit Australia in 26 years. Written and directed by David Shiner, the show follows The Innocent, a naive outsider transported into a colourful and chaotic kingdom where he encounters an eccentric cast of characters, including the formidable Trickster, a crazy King, his Clowns and his Mad Dog.
Blending classic circus traditions with feats that seem to belong to another realm entirely, KOOZA is a dazzling celebration of physical skill, comic invention and sheer human possibility. And from a front-row seat, the experience is something else entirely.
Particularly exciting for Brisbane audiences is seeing Gold Coast performer Mitch Wynter take centre stage as the Trickster. From the moment he springs out of a giant jack-in-the-box and into his multicoloured striped suit, Wynter has the audience in the palm of his hand.
Described as the enigmatic owner and supreme master of KOOZA, Wynter more than lives up to the title. Without uttering a word, he commands the stage through a combination of dance, acrobatics and an intriguing physical presence. He draws us deeper into the strange world he inhabits while maintaining an effortless sense of control.
Opposite Wynter is Kazakhstan’s Alexandr Yudintsev as The Innocent, a naive loner who arrives in this strange new world clutching his beloved kite.
Yudintsev would have to be the best clown I’ve ever seen. There is something exquisitely vulnerable about his portrayal and the way he embodies the fragile child within us all. It’s his quiet observation that makes The Innocent so compelling.
Even while the stage erupts around him with increasingly spectacular feats, Yudintsev remains completely in character. He is a wide-eyed, overwhelmed outsider trying to make sense of this bizarre world. By the closing scene, that vulnerability becomes unexpectedly moving, bringing tears to my eyes.
As each performer strides onto the stage, flanked by costumes designed by Marie-Chantale Vaillancourt, they evoke something almost otherworldly. Knee-high boots, flowing capes, elaborate headdresses and tunics transform these performers into something akin to modern-day superheroes.
Ukrainian performers Dmytro Dudnyk and Anastassiia Shkandybina present a duo unicycle act unlike anything I’ve seen before. What could easily appear to be an exercise in sheer physical exertion instead becomes a study in grace, strength and extraordinary control.
Their movements are so fluid and assured that the immense skill required almost disappears beneath the artistry. Every lift, balance and transition appears effortless, creating a routine that is as beautiful as it is astonishing.
Colombians Jimmy Ibarra Zapata and William Torres Patino are instant crowd favourites on the giant Wheel of Death. Dressed in suitably devilish attire, they launch themselves through a succession of jaw-dropping feats that push daredevilry to its limits.
From my front-row seat, the experience is particularly visceral. The safety net stretches literally overhead as the supporting apparatus is assembled around us. The assisting team move at remarkable speed to construct it before the performers take over. Just as quickly, it is dismantled once the act is complete.
It is Victor Levoshuk from Russia who delivers perhaps the most astonishing individual display of technical mastery in the show with his Chairs act. Levoshuk’s routine is virtually flawless. With extraordinary control and concentration, he stacks one chair after another atop a sturdy base, carefully ascending until we count eight chairs balancing below him.
Every movement is deliberate, yet there is nothing laboured about it. He works with the calm assurance of an absolute master, making an act of extraordinary physical difficulty look almost deceptively simple. Watching him balance at such heights is a genuine thrill.
There is plenty in KOOZA to keep younger audience members entertained too, with extended clown sequences led by the wonderfully madcap King, played by the US’s Mark Gindick, and his two Clowns, in the form of Canada’s Duncan Cameron and Spain’s Miguel Berlanga Madroño.
An oversized, mischievous Mad Dog adds another layer of chaos. There’s an extended sequence involving an unsuspecting audience member which provides plenty of laughs. If you’re sitting in the front row, consider yourself warned.
Usually beneath Cirque du Soleil’s big top, you can hear the live music without quite being able to pinpoint where the sounds are coming from. Stéphane Roy’s set design places the band in view atop a Bataclan. A massive, ornate, multi-storey travelling tower that dominates the centre of the stage, it serves as both live bandstand and entry point for the performers.
Seeing Spirit Singer Kathryn Holtkamp from the USA and Soul Singer Suzanne Perkins from Jamaica performing alongside the various live horn players and musicians only heightens the atmosphere. It makes the music feel like an integral part of the spectacle rather than simply its soundtrack.
Above the Bataclan, a vast canopy expands and contracts at key moments, transforming the space and creating images that feel more like watching a blockbuster unfold on a giant screen. Except there is no digital trickery separating us from what we’re seeing. It’s happening metres away, in real time, and that makes it infinitely more spectacular.
Perhaps the most moving thing about sitting among the audience in the first few rows was how respectful everyone seemed to be of the live experience unfolding in front of us. Not a single phone appeared, despite filming being allowed and almost expected at events like this. Instead, there was a quiet, shared reverence for what we were witnessing together.
In 2026, when so much of what we see and experience is filtered through a screen, and the line between what is real and what has been created, edited or enhanced can feel increasingly blurred, these fleeting, extraordinarily human moments of live performance feel more precious than ever.
For a few hours beneath the big top, there was nothing between us and the performers: no screen, no filter, no edits. Just the shared experience of watching something extraordinary happen in real time. Perhaps that’s the real magic of Cirque du Soleil.
Cirque du Soleil KOOZA runs to 4 October in Brisbane under the Big Top on Curtin Ave East. Behind the Royal Queensland Gold Club, Eagle Farm Qld 4009. It then tours to Sydney. See dates below.
Plan ahead by visiting the KOOZA interactive program.
Tickets: https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/australia/brisbane/kooza/buy-tickets
Website: https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/kooza
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/kooza.cirquedusoleil/
Photo credits: Matt Beard & Bernard Letendre
2026 Australian Tour Dates:
Brisbane 1 August – 4 October, Big Top at Eagle Farm
Sydney 17 October – 3 January, Big Top at Entertainment Quarter
Watch the trailer here:
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