Cirque du Soleil La Nouba is hands-down the best Cirque show that I have seen in person. It is quite possibly the most spectacular live show I have ever witnessed. And so, I selected it as one of the case studies in my research on the exhibit spectacle. I consider it an example on the “spectacle” side of the Continuum of Experience. In the same way that I feel we can learn from design tactics in Tomb and U2 3D, I feel that we museum professionals can learn from experiences like La Nouba.
First, a quick background on the show, according to the official website:
The show name La Nouba originates from the French phrase
"faire la nouba," which means to party, to live it up… La Nouba features two
groups of characters. Throughout the show, the magic and fantasy of the
colourful Cirques (circus people) clash with the monochromatic world of the
Urbains (urbanites). But as in fables, it is not so much this contrast as the
interplay between the two groups which sparks our curiosity and feeds our
imagination.
My husband, 13-yr-old stepdaughter Lauren and her friend Alexa went to see it two weeks ago… Lauren and my husband saw the show two years ago. It was actually her special request this year that we go on this trip – to see it again.
Perhaps you didn’t hear me – a 13-yr-old… who is too cool for just about everything older than she is… who would rather spend her days replying to messages on her Facebook Wall… requested that her one vacation this summer be to see this show. Again.
After seeing La Nouba for the fourth time, I thought there was a good chance that I would feel less excited, less impressed, less in awe or that the show would be predictable or old. I also wondered if Lauren and my husband would feel some loss of enthusiasm for the show the second go-round. But the exact opposite occurred!
I can’t bring myself to describing the show to you… I don’t want to ruin any suspense you might feel going to see it for yourself. Plus it is incredibly indescribable. Seeing the show, once again, proved to me that it has the power to have long-term effects on people… why would I ruin it for you first-timers?
Which brings me to my lessons learned – First, if you can’t describe it, it peaks the interest of the people you tell about it. They only know how excited you are to talk about it. Imagine if we could market a new exhibit but never ever say a word about what you can do in it…
The second thing I realized this time was that the show is a living production. It changes ever so slightly every time a performer changes or the audience changes. The performance seemed a little new to me this time. It also seemed new to Lauren.
Lastly, the music and audio are the glue that holds the show together and creates the drama. Since the purpose of the show is to see the two types of characters interacting, lots of things can be happening at once. The timing of the music, the footsteps, the jumps, the drops, the singers all affect how you experience the show. The fact that the music was just as I remembered it was the reminder to me that It. Makes. This. Show. Work. And Lauren agreed. She told me afterward that it is the music that “makes it Cirque.”
Ladies and gentlemen
Settled in?
Once upon a time
Is where you'll find me
La Nouba
I keep talking about striking a balance between spectacle/wonder and delivery of content. We want to captivate people with our exhibits… and there are clever, beautiful ways to do this. It helps them remember it. But we also want them to learn something.
La Nouba has the luxury of a permanent, noise free environment. It’s producers don’t have to worry about delivering content or about caring about whether or not people “get it.” But, nonetheless, I can't deny it the credit it deserves.
References:
Cirque du Soleil La Nouba official site: http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/lanouba/intro/intro.htm
Fan Review- http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/lanouba/fanReview/fan_review.htm
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