Cirque du Soleil LUZIA at the Royal Albert Hall – Review

Cirque du Soleil LUZIA at the Royal Albert Hall. At the weekend we visited the breathtaking acrobatic performances of Cirque due Soleil LUZIA. Both Cirque du Soleil shows and the Royal Albert Hall has been on my bucket list for a long time. Ever since we first heard of Cirque du Soleil on a trip to Las Vegas for my 30th birthday. Just stepping foot in the iconic building sent shivers down my spine. And that was before we even witnessed any of the captivating magic of the 150th anniversary season of the show. But I really wasn’t sure what to expect!

Cirque du Soleil LUZIA at the Royal Albert Hall

Getting to the Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall is located opposite Kensington Gardens. The nearest underground station is South Kensignton which is on the district and circle line. As you come through the ticket barrier if you keep an eye out for the signs to the Royal Albert Hall. You can walk along an old Victorian Subway which actually runs behind the V&A Museum. It will bring you out very close to the Royal Albert Hall. The whole walk takes around ten minutes. 

Opening times and tickets for Cirque du Soleil LUZIA

We had tickets for an 11.30 am Saturday show and the doors opened 45 minutes before the show was due to start. On your tickets, you will be given a door number. There was a short queue already forming at door 8 which was ours. While we were in the queue one of the people on hand directing visitors. Did say we could also use queues 6 and 7 as they ended up in the same place. The queues were shorter for these doors. 

Ticket prices are not cheap for the show. I paid £270 for two adults and two children in the Raising Circle. Which are basically the cheap seats at the back of the upper tiers. Now a little tip arrive early. The reason being as when we went to find our seats one of the stewards offered us a free upgrade on our tickets. Tickets for the stalls in a similar location. They had not all been sold and so The Royal Albert Hall seem to have a policy of gifting them to other ticket holders. I noticed this happened at several of the Raising Circle ticket entrances.

The tickets we had in the stalls had a face value of £200 each for the afternoon performance the following day. WOW they were the best seats. I do feel that we had a much better experience because of the ticket change. But of course, there is only so many to go around and they allocate on a first-come-first-served basis. 

Is there a gift shop & bar at The Royal Albert Hall

There are several located around the Royal Albert Hall and they will be clearly signposted. They sell a wide selection of soft and alcoholic drinks. Along with sweets and popcorn. Expect to pay around £6 for a pint, £9 for a glass of wine and £3 for a soft drink. The gift shop has a number of souvenirs including various feather masks, butterfly wings, keyrings and of course a programme (£20). I did buy a programme and the photography is amazing. Much better than what I have captured here.  

Can you take photos of Cirque du Soleil?

Yes! I was very surprised to find that we could actually take pictures of the performance. Although you can not put the flash on and you can not take video, or stream to social media. 

The performance itself – Cirque du Soleil LUZIA at the Royal Albert Hall what to expect

It started on time with some Mexican music to encourage people to take their seats. LUZIA is based around the Mexican Fiesta, bringing both the sounds of Mexico and imaginary Mexico into the stage. As the buzz started two stunningly dressed dancers came out dressed as hummingbirds. They interacted with the crowds, especially the children and drove up the already heightened excitement levels. It wasn’t long before the clown was flying out of the sky with an umbrella before turning a key to take us on his journey of a waking dream of Mexico.

Of course, this is not just any journey instead it is a surrealistic journey through a vibrant world of Mexican culture. I did like the clown he did a good job of keeping the crowd entertained between set and acrobatic changes. Especially with a whistle and a blow-up circus ball where he pitted the two sides of the Royal Albert Hall against each other. I was surprised by the looseness of the Mexican story. I found it a little hard to follow. But that could be because the focus really is on the performers and the storyline is very loose. The show contains a number of contemporary circus disciplines, live music and circus arts. Moving from a smoky dance hall to football freestylers and street dance. You do not know what is coming next but that is part of the appeal. Especially as it was our first time.

The artistic scenes open with a bang as giant treadmills bring a brightly coloured orange butterfly followed by a metal horse to the stage. Quickly followed by hoop diving hummingbirds on the same gigantic treadmills. Another favourite was the ladies with the giant hoops. They moved around the stage at quite some pace. Before a water curtain appeared. I really liked the element of water included in the show, especially when they make patterns and pictures in the water.

There are so many jaw-dropping highlights it is difficult to mention them all. But the giant swing definitely deserves a mention. As do the Russian swings towards the end. Sending trapeze artist into the air and the height of the Albert Hall. It really is a surrealistic series of grand visual surprises and awe-inspiring moments many of which defied the laws of gravity. The show definitely tries to portray the vibrant culture of a country and the mythology of Mexico.

Interval – Cirque du Soleil LUZIA at the Royal Albert Hall

There is a twenty-five-minute interval around halfway through. The husband took the boys to the loo and headed to the bar to pick us up a drink. There was plenty of time to do this. I noticed that they were selling ice cream at the front of the estate so decided to queue and pick some up. Two tubs cost £9. By the time it was my turn they only had salted caramel and Eton mess. 

What did the kids think?

I did wonder if the Cirque du Soleil LUZIA at the Royal Albert Hall would be suitable for the boys. But they loved it. Charlie was nine and Harry five when we visited. Charlie was glued all the way through really enjoyed everything about the performance. Harry was a little bored in places. When some of the set changes and quieter moments. But he was also fascinated. It is quite a long show we sat down at 11.15 am and the show finished just before 2 pm. Even with the interval in-between, it is a long time to ask a five-year-old to sit still, but he did manage it. Which is probably a testament to the show. 

Have you seen Cirque du Soleil? What was your favourite bit?

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