New images of Batman Live mock-ups show the production’s use of a Joker-themed hot air balloon, which will be subject to an “onstage disaster.”
We’re all pretty clear on Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark: It’s a musical. Sure, it’s full of aerial acrobatics, but it has a plot and songs to further that plot. Batman Live: World Arena Tour is more difficult to pin down, as it’s definitely not a musical, and not quite a play. It’s sort of a theatrical circus stunt spectacular, to be played out in arenas instead of traditional theaters. These new images of the show’s sets provide a sense of its enormous scale. The stage itself is 100 feet wide and 60 feet deep, and is backed by an enormous video wall.
The circus pictured is the set for the Flying Graysons act, the scene with which the show will open and, presumably, introduce Dick Grayson. The Joker will also undoubtedly be featured, as the Telegraph reports the show features “a Joker face whose eyes, teeth and hair are made up of dozens of dancers,” as well as “an onstage disaster” involving the hot air balloon bearing the visage of Clown Prince of Crime.
According to the Telegraph, none of the scenes will last more than two minutes or so, “so as to keep the momentum up and the younger audience members utterly engrossed.” The show itself runs just shy of an hour and a half, and will spend 11 weeks touring England and Ireland before hitting the road and bringing this bat-circus to the rest of Europe.
Source: The Telegraph, via io9