By Logan Langlois
MEMPHIS, TN — Looking for an entertaining show built to be enjoyed by adults looking for thrills, chills, and a re-definition of what you should expect when you hear the word, “circus?” If so, Paranormal Cirque may be perfect for you. Paranormal Cirque is an R rated, 18+ show, though anyone between the ages of 13-17 may attend if they are accompanied by a guardian that is age 21 or older.
The troupe performed in Memphis the weekend of Dec. 9.
Paranormal Cirque is the brainchild of creator and founder Manuel Rebecchi, who ran his first Cirque Italia in 2012 as a one-off show brought back by popular demand by a rapidly expanding loyal fanbase. Rebecchi has been in the circus business since spending his early adolescence traveling throughout Europe with his late aunt Moira Orfei, the founder of the largest and most famous circus in Europe, The Moira Orfei Circus. He premiered Paranormal Cirque in Palmetto, Florida in 2018, which displayed the strength and willpower of the human spirit and tested the capabilities of the human body, with a strict no-animal policy.
The show consists of traditional circus acts creatively fused with dancing, audience-participatory comedy skits, illusions, magic, and more. All these things are alongside striking visuals and a narrator painting a dark, doomsday-like atmosphere which depicts the fall of man because of greed and ego. “We wanted a show which wasn’t just a collection of unrelated events, but which had a together United story,” a spokesperson for Paranormal Cirque said in a recent interview. “We thought of this sort of underground world where we had this leader known as the Monaco who collected the souls of the damned and used them as part of an entertainment for the circus-goers; this took off and then each of the acts has its own special connection to sin and the fall of Man.”
Performances are conducted by a close-knit cast of multi-talented performers who are often also the crew, working other jobs around the tent such as concessions or ticket office. So, the person scanning your ticket could be the person you will see performing an amazing death-defying stunt right in front of your eyes! Most performers hail from multi-generational circus families with strong roots in the circus, spanning back as many as eight generations. To maintain the peak physical shape that the stunts at Paranormal Cirque require, performers set aside 2-3 hours a day for practice depending on weather conditions. This is accompanied by rigorous traveling and performing schedules that span as many as 11 months out of the year.
“We have performers from Eastern Europe. From Africa, China, from Latin America, we found the best daredevils, the best acrobats, and the most talented people to come together to make a world-class show and then bring it across the entirety of the United States.” Paranormal Cirque’s spokesperson said.
Upon purchasing a ticket, customers are invited to attend the 2-hour show and a haunted walk with scare actors. This haunted walk will include a tour of the show’s newest renovations done in the beginning of 2021 which include a labyrinth area, water fountain, haunted house, graveyard, torture chambers, and more. If any customers would like to skip the haunted walk, they can choose to arrive closer to the show’s start time and enter through a separate entry. Outside the tent, attendees will find custom-designed hearses, a hotdog cart that once was an ambulance, and scary decorations. Tickets and further information for Paranormal Cirque can be found at https://www.paranormalcirque.com/
