There’s a procession passing through the Royal Albert Hall. It’s a Fellini-esque scene featuring a troupe of classic circus characters – ringmaster, pierrot, harlequin – with mournful trombones, clashed cymbals and chattering voices in Italian, French and a smattering of English. It is the funeral of a clown, Mauro (Stéphane Gentilini), and he’s here to watch it too, from his bed on a stage that cuts through the centre of the hall – the audience either side – giving each section an almost proscenium experience.
This show, originally made in 2005 and remounted in 2018, has everything you expect from Cirque du Soleil: world-class acrobatics, whimsical romanticism, scale and spectacle, “Ooh!” and “Ah!”, slightly disappointing comedy, and a nonchalant attitude to narrative. Mauro’s funeral and reminiscences are soon brushed aside to make way for the acts parading across the stage and in the air. Corteo makes great use of the height of the ceiling, with angels floating on high, swooping acrobats in straps, literal swinging from the chandeliers, and a balloon-based surprise à la the movie Up.
