Fear and awe under the Big Top

YOU know the circus is in town when a huge blue-and-yellow Big Top pops up in the city skyline. Since establishing in 1984, Quebec-based entertainment company Cirque du Soleil has delighted over 160 million spectators in more than 400 cities with their modern-day circus productions.

It is not hard to see why the shows, of which there are 18 active ones, are so popular. Kooza, which is now showing in Singapore, is no exception, playing to a full house on Wednesday's opening night. The company, which has about 1,300 artists from more than 50 countries, has got its success formula down pat.

Create a storyline, starting with a character who is more often than not a loner. He meets another character, someone eccentric with tricks up his sleeves, who introduces the loner - and the audience - to a magical world, one filled with lights, timeless music, colourful costumes, bright make-up and a troupe of superhumans.