Cirque du Soleil and Sushisuma

Had the advantage of being part of a group booking for some Cirque du Soleil tickets, for the latest production: Dralion. The advantage of the group booking? $10 discount. However, It still means that you pay over $100 per ticket.

Prior to heading to fox studios, we went to Sushisuma to eat. I had been here the week before, prior to seeing Sigur Ros at the Hordern, and I have been here a few years ago. I remember having to queue up on the street outside waiting for a table.

The renovations have included a new "waiting room" upstairs, where you are expected to order. If you haven't ordered, don't expect to be able to secure a table downstairs. Terse communication from the waiters mean that it is generally the other customers that explain why you are up here, and what to do.

Luckily, no waiting on a Thursday night. We got the enormous Kaiso Salad (mysteriously lurking in the entreee section of the menu), the teriayki fish dinner set, and a bowl of tempura udon. The dinner set was very good value, and although only one set was ordered, the other party got some agedashi tofu and the vanilla icecream with red bean and green tea topping. I loved the sauce that the Kaiso salad came with - it was a mountain of mostly shredded cabbage, carrot and wakame. I ended up taking away some leftovers home, although of course, it was not the same the next day. Searching for it online only seems to come up with an "instant" packet of the stuff, and no explanation of what a Kaiso salad is, or what dressing to use. plum dressing?

Cirque du soleil - the acrobatics were amazing, especially the girl who stood upside down on her hand on top of a pole, and then twisted her body this way and that. Just watching it, you couldn't believe that her body was connected at all, it was like there were two separate disjointed "bits". I also enjoyed the trampoline section where the multiple acrobats bounced between two trampolines, "walked up the wall", and then onto an intermediate platform inbetween fun and enjoyable.

However... what I didn't like. I found the costumes a little bit "twee" and predictable. What is the point of getting the acrobats to head backstage, change one chinese style costume for another (including a fake "mop-end of hair" for another). I vaguely remember reading a smh review of the show, which mentioned something about a rather weak story line joining the whole lot. Some of the artists I actually, well, the girl in the blue costume near the end of the show, who did the ribbon acrobatics. Watching her, it was all very routine, and she didn't look like she was enjoying herself at all. And ARGH, what was the point of the two singers? Silly winged costumes, songs that were nothing, and the 'hey look over there while I change the set' technique. I - uh- ... actually got a little bored near the end of the show.

It's so very easy to be critical and judgemental .. but really, when you're paying over $100 for the ticket, wouldn't you expect more! Anyway. I did enjoy myself. I am glad I went and saw the show once, but I don't think that I would bother to do so again.