With Cirque du Soleil's Saltimbanco visiting Birmingham, CityLiving travels to Las Vegas to check out the company's newest blockbuster - KÁ - and speaks to British set designer Mark Fisher Mark Fisher looks in remarkably good shape considering he's had more late nights with Mick, Keith and the rest of the Rolling Stones than many of us could handle. The British set designer has earned an international reputation for his spectacular rock concert designs, spending time on the road with the biggest names in stadium tours, including Pink Floyd, U2, Elton John and Shania Twain. CityLiving meets the London-based designer in Las Vegas, just hours before the gala premiere of KÁ, the latest Cirque du Soleil production for which Fisher designed the awesome sets. KÁ tells the story of childhood twins and martial arts sparring partners who embark on a Lord of the Rings-style journey of self discovery through a variety of landscapes and performances as they're hunted by archers and spearmen. Two giant hydraulic platforms rotate, spin and move from horizontal to vertical to enable Cirque's artists to perform their trademark perfectlychoreographed routines. In a jaw-dropping finale the stage slowly moves into a vertical position to resemble a rock-face, from which the performers must avoid falling into the smoky abyss 150 feet beneath them. Cirque du Soleil is famed for its distinct brand of theatre with several permanent shows in Las Vegas and touring shows across the world. The Canadian company is currently in Birmingham for the first time with Saltimbanco at Star City. Fisher says the biggest difference between designing a rock show and a Cirque du Soleil show is that Cirque's artists interact much more with the set. "In a rock show the scenery is very much part of the background. In KÁ it forms part of the landscape in which the performers move to create their show," he explains. He started working with KÁ creator Robert Lepage - who describes the story as 'the coming of age of a young man and woman through their encounters with love and conflict' - back in 2002. "Robert came to me with a neat little squiggly line diagram. It started in the sea, went on to a beach, up and over a mountain, through forests and finally into a city. My job was to bring this to life," he says. The 1,950-seat KÁ theatre at the MGM Grand Hotel is unique as the audience sits facing what looks like a bottomless void filled with smoke. Artists perform without treading the boards of a conventional stage. Instead they fly Matrix-style through the air, or perform on the two moving platforms that operate independently. A post and beam structure extends from the stage area into and above the audience to create an interactive space that defies the conventions of traditional theatres - concepts created by Fisher. "The entertainment business has always been in search of new ideas," he says. "You could go right back to the Romans and the Colosseum which was the first building to use lifts to bring people to the stage. But even the great 19th century engineers like Brunel could visit this theatre and understand the principles involved." The 57-year-old's work with Pink Floyd in the early Eighties for their ground-breaking The Wall concerts at Earls Court still ranks as one of the most talked-about live tours ever. "I did The Wall and thought 'where do I go from here?' but I've been very lucky in my career and interesting things have come along. "I also work on small shows. I work with a circus show in London for no money at all and in the end that's as interesting as the massive projects. It's all about what you do with your time," he adds. The highly respected architect still gets a buzz from his many achievements. "I work on a rock show with the band months before its opening night but will attend the first two or three shows to make sure everybody is happy. Then I go away and might go back six months later when it's still touring and I'll be asking myself 'did I really do this? It's amazing'. "It will be the same here at KÁ because my initial creative work was done almost three years ago." According to Fisher, the most important thing is the memory the audience takes away with them afterwards. "In the digital age of movies and DVDs you can virtually 'own' every image you see," he says. "The unique thing about going to see a live show like The Rolling Stones or Cirque du Soleil is that it only exists in your memory. That's its true value, the fact you have to go and see it to experience it." Cirque du Soleil's Saltimbanco is at Star City until March 27. Call the ticketline on 0870 0109026 for information. For more information on KÁ visit www.ka.com | 
