Inspired by James Cameron’s record-breaking movie, Avatar, Cirque du Soleil’s unique new production, TORUK – The First Flight, will make its UK debut this June with dates at the Manchester Arena from 20 to 23 June 2019 and London’s O2 Arena from 26 to 30 June 2019.
With creative input from James Cameron and experts from the movie’s production, TORUK – The First Flight transports audiences to the world of Pandora in a visually stunning live setting.
Ahead of its arrival, we take a look at some of the many ‘Fun Facts’ behind Cirque du Soleil’s stunning new show!
FUN FACTS!
* TORUK – The First Flight is a mythical tale set thousands of years before the events depicted in the film AVATAR, and before any humans ever set foot on Pandora. It is very different from other Cirque du Soleil shows, with a main focus on the story and the use of projections, large scale puppets, and indoor kites.
* 43 artists in the cast – 1 actor, 1 singer, 1 percussionist, 1 kite specialist, 1 boomerang specialist, 6 puppeteers, and many acrobats including 1 contortionist.
* 40 video projectors are used to recreate Pandora. The total projection surface is approximately 20 000 square feet, more than 5 times the size of an IMAX screen.
* 14 puppets represent the creatures of Pandora: 6 Viperwolves, 3 Direhorses, 3 Austrapedes, 1 Turtapede, 2 swarms of Woodsprites, and 1 Toruk. While the Viperwolves and Direhorses are directly inspired by the movie AVATAR, the Austrapedes and the Turtapede were created from scratch for TORUK – The First Flight.
* The Toruk has a wingspan of 12 meters and weighs approximately 115 kg.
* The puppeteers are equipped with microphones and make their own animal sounds for perfect synchronization with their movement.
* Acrobats speak the Na’vi language on stage.
* 19 kites in the show: 6 quads (kites equipped with four-line), 11 kites on poles and 2 giant traction kite which fly over the audience. A traction kite is typically large enough to pull a vehicle on land, snow, ice or water.
* 115 full costumes are worn in every show, with well over 1,000 items, including shoes, headpieces and necklaces.
* 25 shades of blue were invented for the costumes. 4 blue-base skin tones were kept in the show to depict the different DNA variations among the Na’vi beings.
* The flowers of the Tawkami require 120 fishing rods.
* The stage floor is aprox. 1900 square meters and is covered by nearly 700 square panels.
* 34 trucks or 38 shipping containers or 4 planes are needed to transport all of the on-stage and behind the scenes equipment.
* 112 people representing 25 different nationalities are on tour full time.
TORUK – The First Flight is currently touring around the world!
For more information including dates and to purchase tickets visit www.cirquedusoleil.com/TORUK
