Central’s freshmen class attended “Afrique en Cirque” at the Orpheum Theatre in an exclusive showing on Feb. 4. 

“Afrique en Cirque” is a theatrical representation of daily life in the African nation of Guinea, with the show being in the context of a circus. Actors portrayed performing daily activities such as cooking, speaking and traveling. These actions, however, were dramatized and coupled with flips, acrobatics and stunts. The show also featured elaborate costumes, brightly colored scenery and loud music that added to the real yet whimsical feel of the show. 

“Afrique en Cirque” was created by Guinean artist Yamoussa Bangoura, and was first shown in Montreal, Canada. Due to local popularity, the show was later expanded to other cities in Canada, and eventually the rest of the world. Currently, the show is on a world tour, with Omaha being one of the many cities visited. 

The specific showing at the Orpheum Theatre for Central’s freshmen class was a good one and was generally seen as a positive experience for the students involved. Students were filed onto bussesaround 9:30 a.m., with the show beginning at 10 a.m. The Orpheum Theatre is a large and historic venue, and many students were able to experience it for the first time, free of charge. 

The show itself was enjoyable as well. No audible or technical errors were present during the show, leaving it void of disruptions. The youthful audience, comprised of an age range that is notoriously inattentive to long-form shows and media, was engaged and interested during the entire showing, reflecting the show’s quality. 

Personally, I enjoyed the show. It was a stellar performance, and the music, sets and actors all cohesively created a very immersive experience. At the same time, seemingly mundane acts being blown into a larger-than-life performance made it feel very surreal. The actors did a fantastic job portraying their characters using stunts and show evoked real emotion.