Calgary circus performers create ‘really new and different’ time-travel show

The new Cirque du Soleil show in Calgary might get some audience members yearning for that the classic escape – ‘running away to join the circus’.

For some people in the city, it’s a dream that’s come true pretty close to home.

Members of Le Cirque de la Nuit circus troupe are teaming up with Calgary-based Jupiter Theatre to create a new show called The Time Machinist.

“It’s about this inventor who creates a time machine,” explained director Andrew G. Cooper. “So he’s bringing specimens from different points in history to show them off to the audience.”

The show features scenes with dialogue, as well as a wide variety of circus feats.

“It’s kind of a hybrid between circus and theatre, so it’s something really new and different,” Cooper said.

In one of the circus feats, performer Joey Vedres moves around the stage with a large balloon pulled over his head.

“Inside the balloon, I can’t see anything,” Vedres said. “It’s a very niche performance art – you’ll see it here and there, but I don’t believe that there are many people even in Canada doing it right now.”

The Time Machinist runs from Friday, Sept. 8 through Sunday, Sept. 10 at the Grand Theatre in downtown Calgary.  Additional information is available at Cirque Nuit

The performers are hoping to get a bit of a boost from the Cirque du Soleil show Kooza, running in Calgary until Oct 8.

“Having a big show like Cirque come in is amazing,” Cooper said. “It just generates more interest and it gets more people interested in the local circus scene.”