General Ratings
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Image source: GlobalStockPhotography
Overview
Most concerts that I've been to have strict requirements when it comes to photographing and taking videos of the performances. I thought I'd be sneaky and smuggle in my camera. I considered myself lucky entering the theater, my bag going unnoticed. To my utter surprise, I was not alone. After about 10 minutes of marveling at the amazing stucture of this place, I finally took my seat. The area was getting packed with both mainland tourists (Chinese) as well as international visitors. A HK$ 2 billion production? No wonder people fight for tickets. To briefly interject, I tried booking these tickets on several occasions but was unlucky most times. You need to book them in advance as they sell out fast! Fortunately, as I was studying in Hong Kong at the time, and Macau being only a ferry trip away, I planned well in advance for this session. Another benefit of studying in Hong Kong was that I was offered a student price ticket.
Anyway, to get back to the story, the seats beside me soon filled up, some people were relocated as they sat in the wrong areas, but everything seemed to work well and on time and the show commenced. As the music and narration played, I was soon comforted by the fact that the man beside me pulled out his MASSIVE camera and lens (and this comment is coming from someone who shoots with decent sized equipment) and immediately started capturing the amazing colours and lights. Unfortunately for him, he only had his telephoto lens (long range) so he could only take closeups. I read about the show in advance and the unique seating arrangements and prepared my 10mm (very wide) lens. Here is a screenshot from their official website which shows how it is all arranged - a 270 degree view!
What makes this show unique (helped by the structure of the theater) is that it is designed with non-stop movement. Your head is constantly switching from left to right, up and down, trying to keep up with the excitement. The lighting is fantastic and the height as well as overall space in the theater adds to the dramatic feel of the show. The performers are extremely talented and very well trained. It is an International crew, and very fit. Their exceptional timing and execution of the stunts they are required to perform leave you gasping for breath after each major scene in the show.
The structure of the performance could not be better. I'm usually quite critical of shows as I enjoy analysing what I see (blame my university degree) but this one was, at least in my eyes, spotless; perfect in every way. After sitting through the 85 minute show, you realise that there was no intermission! You never need one. There is an element of surprise thrown in about two-thirds of the way through and it will not fail to get your adrenaline pumping! The world's greatest show maker Mr. Franco Dragone refers to this as a 'visual theater'. It certainly achieves his goal and I can assure you that it stimulates all senses.
Anyway, to get back to the story, the seats beside me soon filled up, some people were relocated as they sat in the wrong areas, but everything seemed to work well and on time and the show commenced. As the music and narration played, I was soon comforted by the fact that the man beside me pulled out his MASSIVE camera and lens (and this comment is coming from someone who shoots with decent sized equipment) and immediately started capturing the amazing colours and lights. Unfortunately for him, he only had his telephoto lens (long range) so he could only take closeups. I read about the show in advance and the unique seating arrangements and prepared my 10mm (very wide) lens. Here is a screenshot from their official website which shows how it is all arranged - a 270 degree view!
What makes this show unique (helped by the structure of the theater) is that it is designed with non-stop movement. Your head is constantly switching from left to right, up and down, trying to keep up with the excitement. The lighting is fantastic and the height as well as overall space in the theater adds to the dramatic feel of the show. The performers are extremely talented and very well trained. It is an International crew, and very fit. Their exceptional timing and execution of the stunts they are required to perform leave you gasping for breath after each major scene in the show.
The structure of the performance could not be better. I'm usually quite critical of shows as I enjoy analysing what I see (blame my university degree) but this one was, at least in my eyes, spotless; perfect in every way. After sitting through the 85 minute show, you realise that there was no intermission! You never need one. There is an element of surprise thrown in about two-thirds of the way through and it will not fail to get your adrenaline pumping! The world's greatest show maker Mr. Franco Dragone refers to this as a 'visual theater'. It certainly achieves his goal and I can assure you that it stimulates all senses.
Final word
About half-way through the performance, I understood exactly why my eyes could never leave the stage. The secret to the show is that it has a strong narrative. Although it is deliberately ambiguous at times, it all makes sense and is generally easy to follow. This is what makes a show effective. Make your performance and narrative very complex and you've lost your audience. Make it simple and everyone - whether toddler, teenager or grandmother - will understand and appreciate the show.
Rating
10/10 (this is well considered as I could not find a single fault or area that needed improvement - simply a perfect performance)
Author: Jono Mac
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