The theme of the show is “The Best of Cirque,” so the inspiration is in the visual language of Cirque and especially in the classic big-top setting. The design wanted to bow to the tradition of Cirque, but at the same time [we] wanted to take advantage of the technical possibilities within such an arena. So kind of big-top inspired, but without the technical restrictions of a big top.

The venue is called King Abdullah Sports City, also known as The Shining Jewel, and it is located 30 km north of Jeddah. FUZION is staged at the basketball arena that is located just next door to the main football stadium. What is there really serves the show and no element is there just for it’s own sake. Every element builds the big picture of the performance; both the sets and the lighting succeed in supporting every act put on stage.

• THE STAGE — circular form is very central to the design. The circular shape for the stage comes from the idea of creating a similar intimacy and spirit that you’d have in a big top. Though the performance space is large, no seat is too far and we do not have “bad” seats in the audience. The VIP seats embracing the stage are very close to the main performance area and that’s really optimal for clown acts for example. As far as perspective is concerned, it’s not only upstage/downstage depth [we're] considering with this stage. The depth in height becomes a very important factor with all the aerial acts and also the wheel of death. This, again, relates directly to lighting and how the rig is layered and organized in space. Yes, one is constructed of plywood or whatnot and the other is pixels, but what counts is the end experience and I’m not really interested in what the technique is.
  
  
• THE DONUT — After the main stage was conceived, which was decided to be a 14m-diameter circle with a 10m-diameter turntable and some circular stairs around it, the background and the band riser formed themselves naturally around this theme of circularity. In the middle of the circular RP screen hangs the main set piece, “The Donut”, that is a mix between a gold, bronze, and metallic structure that both splits the RP in two areas (one inside and one outside The Donut) and also has 60 pcs of JDC-1 strobes inside it. The idea was to make The Donut work as a lit set piece as well as a massive source of light, sort of the sun of the stage if you like. And I wanted to both start the show and end the show with this Pink Floyd-style, larger-than-life brightness. So the light in The Donut is really my Marc Brickman tribute!
  
  
• LIGHTING — For lighting positions [we] have two straight standard backlight trusses, two circular trusses above the stage, a circular horseshoe truss above the VIP bleachers and a FOH truss that also horsehoes around the hall. The sidelights are on their own ladders, two sets SL and two SR. Two clusters of nine PRG Icon Edge fixtures hang just onstage of the main PA. "I do not have a lot of floor units on the show," said Mikki Kunttu, lighting and set designer for FUZION. "I generally do not like seeing lighting fixtures on stage when I look at the performers, and especially for this show I wanted to have a very clean stage." One of the most successful parts of the design is the green malachite efect on the backstage wall. The Donut sinks in with the lighting and projection so nicely that at times it is really impossible to say what is a concrete set piece and what is content. In most of the scenes the background is a mix of video content, The Donut, and the lighting on The Donut and around it.
  
  
• THE BEDOUIN TENT — The tent is like a “dream of a big top” that our main characters are searching for and trying to grasp. The tent is a very thin fabric that only hangs by thin ropes in the air and it covers all of our turntable, so the diameter is around 10m. At the top of the show, our whole cast is inside the tent, but you do not see them as the tent is only lit from outside. As we kick into the opening of the show, the tent is removed by a super fast sniffer and at the same time we drop our big kabuki right behind it revealing the whole stage and the cast and getting into the introduction of characters with the first number. "I just love the poetry and magic of how the big tent disappears from stage in a blink of an eye." The lighting for the tent is fully from outside and it is really really simple, just a little blue from here and there and a nice dimmer effect to build up the suspense getting into the moment of the big reveal.

Creative Team

• Marie-Josée Adam — Executive Producer/Head of Creation
• Stefan Miljevic — Creative Director
• Mukhtar Omar Sharif Mukhtar — Show Director
• Mikki Kunttu — Lighting and Set Designer
• Madeleine Bernatchez — Props Designer
• Hugo Montecristo — Music Director, Composer and Arranger
• Germain Guillemot — Acrobatic Performance Designer
• Audrey Toulouse — Make-up Designer
• Nicolas Vaudelet — Costume Designer
• Mark Vreeken — Sound Designer
• John Cartin — Acrobatic Choreographer
• Geneviève Dorion-Coupal — Acrobatic Choreographer
• Olivier Goulet — Video Content Designer

Acts / Music

• Opening — "Atmadja" from Quidam / "Mirko" from Alegria
• Strap Bungee — "Rae" from Zarkana
• Hand to Hand — "Ulysse" from Mystère
• Artistic Bike — "Steampunk Telegram" from Kurios
• Clown — "Réveil" from Quidam
• Storm — "Réveil" from Quidam
• Flying Trapeze — "Irna" / "Valsapena" from Alegria
• Parade — "Monde Inversé" from Kurios
• Sanddorn Balance — "Whisper" from Amaluna
• Banquine — "Misère" from Quidam
• Aerial Silk — "Querer" from Alegria and "Black Queen" from Vitori
• Clown — "Ne me quittes pas" from Varekai
• Helium Dance — "Créature de Siam" from Kurios
• Fire Knife Dance — "Terre Aride" from O
• Clown — "Atmadja" from Quidam
• Wheel of Death — "Diables" from Kooza / "Urban" from La Nouba
• Finale — "Hymn of World"s from ZED