Cirque Berzerk

Cirque Berzerk is an American acrobatics show. The show was conceived by Kevin Bourque and Suzanne Down (Bernel) at the 2004 Burning Man festival [1][2]

Bourque and Down had previously toured the US and Asia in a performance band called Mutaytor.[1] Suzanne Down (Bernel) was an aerial acrobat, fire-eater and dancer.[1]

In 2008, Bourque and Down produced the first Cirque Berzerk show with choreographer Neal Everett[3] and David Berrent. It was staged in a tent with 1,600 seats at the Los Angeles State Historic Park .[3] This first show was titled Beneath. It featured fire breathers, a nightmarish clown on stilts, contortionists and burlesque dancers. Bourque played the lead role as Death as he welcomed the audience into his gothic underworld. The show was adult content.[3]

In 2009, Cirque Bezerk moved to Club Nokia with 2,300 seats for a 6-week run. Some reviews suggested that the stage was just barely large enough for some of the bigger acts.[4]

Music

The Cirque Bezerk music is composed by Bourque and performed by a live band during the show. The band included Johnny Avila from Oingo Boingo.[2] After the show, Vaud and the Villains would play on an outdoor stage while the performers mingled with the crowd.[5]

The soundtrack was written to help tell the story of a woman's descent into Death's Cabaret in the underworld. The song “Death’s Cabaret” was co-written with bassist John Avila and inspired by Rosin Coven.  

Musicians included:

  • John Avila, Bass Player
  • Alpheus Underhill, Drummer
  • Andrew Hayhurst, Cellist

Singers included:

  • Antonia Bath
  • Tigre Fisher
  • Gretchen McNeil

References
  1. Staff, VoyageLA. "Meet Suzanne Down of Cirque Berzerk Productions in Downtown Los Angeles & Pasadena - Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide". Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  2. "Cirque Berzerk show is dark, sexy fun". Orange County Register. 2011-01-12. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  3. "Lucha VaVoom and Cirque Berzerk are L.A.'s theater of the odd". Los Angeles Times. 2009-07-19. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  4. Verini, Bob (2011-01-23). "Cirque Berzerk". Variety. Retrieved 2019-07-24.
  5. "Cirque Berzerk: The Little Local Circus That Could | BlackBook". Retrieved 2019-07-24.
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