I was absolutely blown away by the level of skill and finesse that the actors and dancers of Invisible Cities had.

The set and costuming was amazing and the way that the stage was transformed throughout the show proved how talented the designers and set hands truly are.

There were some incredibly powerful messages that I took away from this piece, including: the problems of consumerism, aiming for one dream potentially hardens yourself to other opportunities and experiences and that realistically, that we as humans are the ones who are intrinsically linked to the places that we live in.

That you can erect new buildings and change the dynamic, but ultimately it is how we interact and engage in these cities that make it a city.

I was somewhat perplexed by the storytelling method and needed to read the guide as to the story, after that I enjoyed the performance tenfold.

Even if I had not done this, I still would have been amazed by the skills of the performers.

Invisible Cities, inspired by the book of the same name by Italo Calvino, is an extremely powerful and dynamic production which brings the spirited conversations between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan to life.

It not only depicts the spectacular visions of Marco Polo as he describes them to Kublai Khan but also subtly develops the changing relationship between the two men.

The performance takes the audience on a spectacular journey to the many cities that Marco Polo describes.

Visions of landscapes and cities are miraculously created through the unique merging of theatre, dance, music, and film projection.

The combination of a very different venue and seating layout allows the audience to be fully immersed in the performance.

The moods of the various cities are portrayed by stunning stage design, architecture, lighting and film projection techniques. Marco Polo and Kublai Khan are excellent in their roles and take full command of the performance area.

The dancers are exceptional in their abilities and the choreography is strong and powerful reflecting the mood and dynamics of the performance.

The excellent choice of music adds another layer in creating the overall experience.

Not wanting to give much more away… It is an absolutely stunning production that is certainly a ‘must-see’ event !!!

Words can hardly describe what an amazing, immersive experience this was!

We were completely enthralled the entire time and loved every second of it.

My history buff/travel-enthusiast husband loved the storyline, and I was totally taken aback with the beautiful way dance, video, theatre, and sound all came together to create such a vivid story.

The level of professionalism in this production was outstanding and really helped make this a totally immersive and engaging experience.

I felt like I was there on the sidelines watching these people and re-living Marco Polo’s stories.

I have recommended this to everyone I’ve seen – it’s absolutely worth watching!

59 Productions brings Italo Calvino’s novel, Invisible Cities, to the stage in a breathtaking piece of theatre of monumental proportions.

The setting for the Brisbane Festival season, a warehouse in Yerongpilly, barely contained this ambitious work.

From the opening to the closing, the audience is captivated and enthralled as the story – centred on the tense relationship between the great Mongolian warrior, Kublai Khan and explorer, Marco Polo – unfolds.

The combination of art and technology are pure mastery.

A collaborative effort between 59 productions, writer Lolita Chakrabarti, choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and famed dance company Rambert the production is spellbinding, to say the least.

The physicality of the performance was palpable, aided by the positioning of the audience around the stage bringing them into the production.

Fantastical cities unfold before the audience’s eyes through a combination of theatre, perfectly timed and choreographed dance, clever original music, beautiful visual projections and brilliant set design.

The entire production was three dimensional giving the audience a sense of being able to walk around it and touch it.

Details in Invisible Cities are constantly evolving according to Director Leo Warner – a book that one is not reading but rather re-reading.

Warner says Invisible Cities lives on in one’s head and body changing how you think and view things.

He has summed the production up perfectly.

If you want to know exactly what he means, then I suggest you go and see Invisible Cities for yourself.

It will blow your mind.

While not the best person to discuss world history with, I did find the storytelling combined with incredible lighting and stage effects offered the audience an opportunity to take away individual messages from the show.

I spoke to a dozen people after the event and we all had a different take on Khan and Marco Polo’s relationship and perspective of their worlds.

That in itself is what theatre is all about I guess – storytelling that allows you to form an opinion and share with others to keep the story alive.

In that respect, it was a very successful show.

This spectacular stage show is based on the iconic book, Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino.

Beautiful as it is, the book’s all description, no narrative drive, and it is not something you would ever think could be taken to the stage.

Turns out, it can. WOW!

Set in what looks like a huge abandoned warehouse, with a massive central stage divided into 4 corner towers named after the compass points for the audience, Invisible Cities starts like a play but soon becomes more like a living, piece of art.

It centres on a series of conversations between Marco Polo, the travelling adventurer who is held hostage by Kublai Khan, who will not release him until he describes in vivid detail his empire and all the lands it contains.

During the stories, a chorus of amazing dancers move through incredible, architectural choreography with their bodies bringing the cities to life, along with projections of fantastical landscapes on massive, sheer curtains surrounding the audience.

The 3D sound and light projections of water, mountains, jungles, etc. are spectacular and transport you to the exotic environments being described.

Some of the projections, like the moving water on the floor, had me wondering for so long if they were real or an illusion.

I thought some of the dialogue scenes were a little slow to start with but once I had a grasp of what was happening, I found myself mainly focused on the dancers.

Such intense, remarkable choreography, in particular, the beasts in the Monster City, City of the Dead and the striking elastic rope pieces.

I welcomed the 20-minute interval, not to get a break from the show, but because although the venue was extraordinary, there was little ventilation and it was too hot.

Returning for the second half, it was incredible to see a canal complete with gondolier set into the stage to represent Venice.

Well done to the set designers.

We see the rise and fall of more cities, once again with the powerful dance movements injecting a completely different dreamlike mood for each of them.

The last city is one of rubbish that pollutes the canal and environment; an ugly but apt ending after the beauty of the visions before and quite topical at present, giving us all something to think about.

Invisible Cities – ambitious, unique and a well-executed production that I would highly recommend.

Invisible Cities revolves around a conversation spanning several years between the despotic Kublai Khan and a young, shackled Marco Polo.

Khan’s lust for knowledge, power, love and belonging knows no bounds and he enslaves the naïve Polo to show him the great cities of his dominion and beyond.

Polo’s gift for describing vivid, glorious and, at times, terrifying cityscapes to the old dictator keeps him alive and secures the safety of his uncle and father.

Polo grows more powerful with each new conjuring of a more far-fetched and fanciful city while Khan grows more impatient to know everything and every place.

Love, loss, desire, longing, despair and greed are all explored in this exquisite production.

Supported by an international ensemble of brilliant and beautiful dancers, the cities spring to life through dance, mime, minimal props and the clever use of light and water.

In one scene, the stage is transformed into a Venetian canal, complete with gondola gliding along a watery thoroughfare.

The audience is in a celestial golden kingdom one minute, an underwater orgy the next.

“Be careful what you wish for” is the central premise of this cautionary tale.

Khan wishes to know perfection and be all-knowing, while Polo reminds him that this knowledge, while seductive, can destroy.

This ambitious, large-scale production is presented as theatre-in-the-round in a huge warehouse in Yeerongpilly, across the road from a brothel.

This unprepossessing venue belies the brilliance of Invisible Cities.

It must be seen to be believed.

Brisbane has come a long way from its days as an invisible city.

Once known as a cultural backwater, modern Brisbane now entertains its citizens with theatre that is bold, dramatic, intelligent and provocative.

Judging by the audience’s reaction to Invisible Cities, it shows just how far we’ve come.

I felt like I had fallen into a surrealist painting.

Where Salvador Dali’s Elephants came to life, as the cast crossed the stage with controlled movement wearing stilts.

The majority of the cast was made up of faceless characters, who became whatever the narrative needed them to be; travellers, stars in the night, the arch of a bridge, tangible emotions and the cities themselves.

This show was brought to life with physical theatre, that was executed with absolute precision and elevated the entire show.

The narrative was an abstraction of our human limitation and discussed our inability to focus on the present moment, our need to feed our ego, and our self-destructive capitalist behaviours.

The dialogue was at times difficult to follow, but this seemed almost intentional as the audience experienced the same sensory overload as the two main characters.

The set design was incredible and included projection mapping and a 360-degree performance space, which made the stage feel like a living, breathing city.

Invisible Cities was very cleverly directed and is a must-see for those who love physical theatre, high production value and thought-provoking narrative.

To say I didn’t enjoy Invisible Cities is an understatement.

I’ve seen many productions in my time from the sublime to the ridiculous, from amateur student productions to the latest Broadway hits, from dull plays that I’ve had a power nap through to things on stage that were so confusing no amount of program notes could help me make sense of it.

And then this. To paraphrase The Simpsons’ Comic Book Man, Invisible Cities was the “Worst. Production. Ever.”

IMHO… Where do I even begin? Is it theatre? Is it dance? Is it music? Is it a live reading of an audiobook? Is it philosophy? Is it an elaborate joke from a performance artist designed to test our limits and see who cracks?

It could be all of these things but it did none of them well (except the last scenario perhaps).

On acting: Khan may have been doing his best to get his Shakespearean menace on but he was woefully under-supported by a Marco Polo who for reasons utterly inexplicable had a modern American accent (he lived from 1254 to 1324).

And even then he couldn’t seem to maintain the accent from one sentence to the next!

On dance: would’ve been great to see more of it.

There were a lot of bodies on stage but using handheld lights as stars is best left to high school rock eisteddfods rather than internationally-renowned professional productions headlining a major arts festival.

I will say that the beasts created by groups of dancers were a highlight (but a very brief one).

On the story: I’m all for interesting and brave choices (quite frankly we need more of them) but seriously, not only was there no plot, there was barely any drama and the allegedly profound statements about the built environment were ‘meh’ to say the least.

That’s right, if they can’t be bothered with a proper story then I can’t be bothered to think up a better word than ‘meh’.

In all honesty, the most dramatic and interesting part of the whole thing was a misbehaving curtain that failed to retract.

Seeing the silhouette of a ladder and someone scrambling to the top during a scene change was by far the highlight of what was an otherwise disappointing night at the theatre.

Wow, WOW – definitely the best show that I’ve seen at this year’s Brisbane Festival and definitely the best venue ever!

The warehouse worked perfectly – as the stage was huge and had no limitations.

Audience sat amongst the action.

Large screens were displayed around the stage adding amazing visuals throughout the performance and telling the story whilst set changes were made.

Surround sound was great, and music calming and relaxing.

A magical story line following Kublai Kahn (superbly played by Danny Sapani) who coerces Marco Polo (Matthew Leonhart) to visit his Kingdoms and together explore the topics of Questions, Language, Desire, Health, Memories and Despair.

Lovely period costumes and amazing water features and simple effective props (I loved the use of shopping bags and boxes and elastic rope to create a web).

The dance and movement was incredible but looking at the biography of the 20 plus dancers in the cast I’m not surprised- as they are from Rambert – the longest-established British dance company with dancers from around the globe.

I found the City of Monsters a bit disturbing- as the 3-headed, six-legged monsters were pretty scary – but cleverly choreographed.

But I loved the way the dancers walked on stilts and the setting for Venice with the arched bridges and real gondola on the canal was amazing.

The use of torches and lights to represent stars was also clever.

I came away from the production feeling uplifted and in awe of the incredible talent that was showcased.

Thank you director, Leo Warner, and team for showing how acting, dance, music, stage and light can combine to create pure magic.

The site location is a rather unattractive concrete warehouse in the middle of an industrial park with no visual clues of the beauty about to be unleashed within.

Upon entry to the dark warehouse, audience members are guided to their allocated sectional area and I immediately recall the childhood excitement of attending a circus event.

As we wait, seated on uncomfortable chairs and we view large opaque screens with old-world atlas images.

These screens will be used to project stunning images as the stage set changes for each chapter of the tale.

Finally, the screens retract with a screeching metal sound, the huge stage area can be seen witnessed and I realise that the show will be performed from a 360-degree perspective.

The two male actors use their wonderful voices to narrate the story of their relationship, the language is from a different era and reminded me of a Shakespearean play.

Talented dancers in wonderful costumes, performing wonderful choreographed movements on a massive stage area with such energy and passion was a joy to witness.

Marco Polo describes each invisible city in passionate detail, its infrastructure and, more importantly, how the inhabitants live their lives according to the unique value system of each city.

Virtual reality technology provides dazzling imagery of each city as the performance unfolds.

Simply stunning.

The complexity of humankind, those highs and lows of life are tackled in an honest and wonderful way.

The relentless need to carve out an ideal lifestyle in a less-than-ideal environment.

The overarching conclusion is that cities are not defined by design but by the city inhabitants themselves.

Loved it and would happily attend every night so if you have an opportunity to attend this show, do.

Invisible Cities is 120 minutes of sheer, visual spectacular.

Completely absorbing, this may be one of the best things you’ll ever see.

From start to finish, this show is a relentless feast for the eyes and ears.

The audience starts in a cocooned space, enveloped by a projection screen which fills your entire gaze (revel in this anticipation – you’re in for a treat!).

These screens shift and change throughout the performance, opening the vast warehouse-come-stage space before you, always to reveal a new and surprising chapter.

Overall, the integration of projection creates a fully immersive, cinematic/theatrical experience that anyone can enjoy.

The design is truly the star of the show.

Kublai Khan played by Danny Sapani and Marco Polo played by Matthew Leonhart deeply impress, and the 21-strong Rambert dancers are fluid and beautiful.

It’s easy to see why they are known as one of the foremost contemporary dance ensembles in the world.

Director Leo Warner and Co-Director and Choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui are to be congratulated for filling every minute of this play with dazzling movement.

I’d say, however, the sheer spectacle of the design, sound and movement overwhelms the narrative and emotional charge of the play.

In this sense, everything else in the show elicited so much excitement, that anything else felt to be lacking by comparison.

I would have loved to feel more for the characters and connected to their journey.

Overall, Invisible Cities is the sort of show that you truly experience rather than just see.

It’s completely invigorating – unmissable this Brisbane Festival.

Coming to Brisbane directly from the UK, Invisible Cities is a living and breathing exploration of space, story, and imagination.

The show itself is difficult to describe.

Based on a series of novels by the Italian novelist Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities constructs a strange and fantastical exploration of built space, and imagination.

It’s a piece that transports the audience into an almost-real world through the use of projection mapping breathtaking architectural design and brilliantly realised dance and physical theatre choreography.

While it did have some small hiccups in the early portions, being hampered by a pace and structure that seemed to draw away the audience’s engagement and caused a little bit of confusion in momentum, nevertheless the show is a triumph.

Vast in scope, ambitious in scale, and visually rich.

Brilliantly realised and visually breathtaking.

A must-see.

‘Invisible Cities’ offers a glimpse into the petulant relationship between Mongolian Kublai Khan and the explorer Marco Polo.

After suffering a deep personal loss, Kublai Khan sought the wisdom of Marco Polo as a visionary.

The promise of futuristic cities like Zenobia as a city of joy, Beersheba (gold) and Isadora (promise, seduction and desire) were imagined as ethereal places.

Narration offered a story that was brilliantly interpreted by Rambert’s exuberant physical dance.

The entry of the stilt walkers with riders on their backs was unexpected and mesmerising; as was the dynamic change of set at interval.

Imperative lighting developed an immersive mood that transformed the warehouse space from palaces to gardens and countryside with a flowing river.

Unique corner seating with tailored wrap-around audio-visual screens highlighted the mammoth scale.

Each element of acting, music, choreographed dance and projected mapping, informed the other.

Brisbane is very fortunate to host such a collaboration of extraordinary ingenuity, that started in Manchester UK.

The show will undoubtedly draw international acclaim as it travels across the globe.

Invisible Cities is an awe-inspiring production, in scale and execution, that brings to life Italo Calvino’s ethereal 1974 novel.

Staged in an enormous vacant warehouse in Yeerongpilly, I was wonderstruck upon arrival, overcome with questions of logistics and cost.

Director Leo Warner and various collaborators have concocted a fusion of performance art, dance, design, lighting and projection, that teleports you to Calvino’s imagination.

I was quite the fan of British horror series Penny Dreadful, so was star struck when I recognised Danny Sapani as the later-in-life but no-less-dictatorial emperor Kublai Khan.

But Sapani’s captivating performance finds ineffectual counterweight in Matthew Leonhart’s Marco Polo.

Leonhart’s performance struggles to find the complexity and nuance that helps Sapani steal the show.

The Rambert Ensemble is excellent, at once free and precise, and may very well bring to life Polo’s fantasies with more evocation than the production’s immense and immersive – but sometimes overbearing – technical component.

The worlds created through vast changes in stage, as well as the use of lighting, sound, scrim, projection, and even water are nothing short of astounding, but the effort required to enact such transformations necessitates interludes that pull you somewhat back to reality.

Invisible Cities flourishes in the second half, not only because its conceptual vision is clearer, but the dramatic change of set minimised these transitions, allowing for a more immersive experience.

What is most striking with this ambitious and triumphant production are its musings on place: over two hours, cities are woven out of words, light and movement, in a massive disused space on Brisbane’s outskirts.

It is the ideal signature event for a Festival celebrating this city.

Visually spectacular, the occasionally airless invisible cities might lose some of its emotional power to the pristine cinematic staging, but on the whole, is a thought-provoking and entertaining production.

I can’t stop telling people how amazing this show is.

Every little detail is beautifully designed to take you on a journey.

The Great Kahn and Marco Polo capture your attention from the first second, and with the help of the dancers, build on a fascinating story.

With contemporary life pieces incorporated, this show is an amazing adaptation of the book.

A must-see.

First impressions entering the venue…WOW… the lighting and staging were incredible.

Invisible Cities takes you on a completely immersive experience blending physical theatre, dance with architectural design and projection.

The warehouse in Yeerongpilly was a spectacular venue and roundhouse seating allowed for a truly unique theatre experience.

This was truly unique and Dance Ballet Rambert did a spectacular job.

The movement in combination with lighting, water and other various props had me on the edge of my seat and each piece truly takes you on a journey into each new world.

The choreography itself was powerful and emotional, it couldn’t be flawed.

I found the story itself to be quite hard to follow.

There were times where I didn’t know what was happening and I struggled to make sense of the storyline.

I found it most enjoyable when I ignored the story and just left the dancing and atmosphere speak for itself.

The beginning was particularly hard to understand and I found it hard to engage with the overriding concept.

Overall I enjoyed the dance aspects of the performance and found them to be moving and innovative, however, was left feeling flat when trying to consider the overall concept and themes of the story.

I probably should have read the synopsis properly because I was confused as to what was going on but it wasn’t difficult to figure out.

The winner in this spectacle is the production design.

It is truly outstanding and I loved the near 3D projections on the muslin curtains.

The audience is divided into four seating banks and it was these curtains that hid us from each other when the set was changing.

It gave me a sense of being in a smaller audience than the one we were really in.

The choreography was stunning and I was happier watching the dancers than listening to the story.

I lost focus when the actors were talking.

I wasn’t menaced by the Kublai Khan (Danny Sapani) and why, oh why, did Marco Polo (Matthew Leonhart) have an American accent?

It was awful and inconsistent.

My opinion is conflicted with the incorporation of modern cities towards the end.

I understand the connection and I enjoyed it very much but I didn’t want to go there.

This will be a crowd-pleaser for theatregoers.

I really didn’t know what to expect.

As I sat there, waiting for the performance to begin, I was wondering just what I got myself into, lamenting my decision to try something new.

At the moment the performance began, I could honestly say I was very entertained.

The costumes were impeccable, and the choreography was divine.

The storytelling really transported me to the places, my imagination felt in tune with what the performers were trying to portray.

I definitely recommend this as an experience everyone should have.

What a treat for the senses!

Invisible Cities directed by Leo Warner is a story of how cities aren’t defined by their design but how people behave.

Superbly acted by Danny Sapani playing the role of the majestic and demanding Kublai Khan along with Matthew Leonhart who lived and breathed life into a very real Marco Polo.

I don’t want to give away any of the wonderful aspects of this amazing production but let me say it is a true masterpiece that takes your breath away as you are whisked on an amazing journey that just gets better and better.

Contemporary dance at its finest, choreographed by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, was performed by a wonderful dance troupe who weave an amazing story with costumes designed by Laura Hopkins.

Set design by Jenny Melville that was set in a warehouse left me wanting more – simplistic but oh so effective.

I also have to mention Fabiana Piccioli Lighting Designer, Garthe Fry Sound Designer, Nicol Scott Video Designer, and Benoit Swan Pouffer, Creative Advisor who all added layer upon layer of what is a fantastic experience.

Well done Brisbane Festival.

If you’re lucky enough to have a ticket you are in for a treat.

If not run don’t walk people and snatch one up asap!