Oxford Events
Stage Watch: Cirque du Soleil’s Kurios brings a cabinet of curiosities to London’s Royal Albert Hall
There are few theatrical worlds quite like those created by Cirque du Soleil. For KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities, the company turns its attention to a fantastical mechanical universe of inventors, acrobats and impossible contraptions, bringing the production to London’s Royal Albert Hall for a limited run in early 2027.
The production arrives at the historic venue from 13 January to 28 February 2027, with seven weeks of performances forming part of Cirque du Soleil’s 30th anniversary celebrations at the Royal Albert Hall.
At the centre of KURIOS is a Seeker, an inventor working inside an elaborate mechanical laboratory. He is convinced that another world exists beyond the one visible to us — a hidden universe where imagination takes precedence over the familiar rules of reality.
His search leads him to a collection of peculiar characters who emerge from his cabinet of curiosities. As the mechanical world around him begins to transform, the boundary between invention and reality becomes increasingly blurred.
The premise provides the framework for what is, above all, a visual and physical spectacle. Cirque du Soleil combines acrobatics, contortion and theatrical performance with elaborate sets and a steampunk-inspired aesthetic, creating a world of oversized machinery, curious inventions and characters that appear to have stepped out of another era.
Rather than relying on a conventional narrative, KURIOS uses movement, music, visual design and physical skill to tell its story. The result is a production in which the performers and the machinery share the stage, with the human body becoming another part of the show’s fantastical mechanical landscape.
A world of curiosities
The production is set in an alternative version of the past, drawing on the visual language of early industrial machinery and Victorian-era invention while deliberately pushing it into the realm of fantasy.
The Seeker’s laboratory becomes the gateway into this world. Once the hidden universe is revealed, a succession of eccentric characters and performers appear, each bringing a different form of physical artistry to the stage.
Acrobatics sit at the heart of the production, alongside acts of contortion and other displays of strength, balance and precision. The theatrical design is equally important, with the stage populated by mechanical-looking creations that help establish the show’s distinctive visual identity.
The central idea is that the extraordinary can exist alongside the everyday — provided the imagination is allowed to look beyond what is immediately visible.
From Montreal to London
KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities first premiered in Montreal in 2014. Since then, the production has travelled internationally, attracting more than seven million spectators across 50 cities and playing more than 3,500 performances.
Its London engagement brings the production back to the Royal Albert Hall, a venue with a long association with Cirque du Soleil.
The 2027 season also marks 30 years of Cirque du Soleil productions at the Royal Albert Hall, giving the return of KURIOS an additional significance within the company’s history at the venue.
The Royal Albert Hall’s distinctive circular auditorium also provides a particularly different setting for a production built around spectacle. With the audience surrounding the performance space, the scale and visual detail of the production become part of the experience rather than simply providing a backdrop to the action.
An early 2027 spectacle
For audiences looking for something outside London’s traditional theatre season, KURIOS offers a different kind of theatrical experience. There is no conventional play to follow and no straightforward distinction between circus and theatre. Instead, the production builds its world through physical performance, design and visual storytelling.
The show runs for approximately two hours and 20 minutes, including an interval, making it an evening-length production rather than a conventional circus performance.
Alongside standard tickets, a number of premium experiences are available, including VIP boxes, a VIP Gallery package, cast meet-and-greet opportunities and dining at Coda restaurant at the Royal Albert Hall.
With its combination of circus artistry, theatrical design and an imagined mechanical world, KURIOS – Cabinet of Curiosities brings one of Cirque du Soleil’s established productions to London for a strictly limited engagement at the beginning of 2027.
Cirque du Soleil Kurios – Cabinet of Curiosities
Venue: Royal Albert Hall, London
Dates: 13 January–28 February 2027
Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes, including interval
Tickets: On sale now. Buy tickets
Production: Cirque du Soleil