Cirque du Soleil’s 30-year-old tourshow, Alegría (1994), is a parable of the new replacing the old: fresh life reinfusing the stale traditions of ages past. It is perhaps ironic, then, that the revamped Alegría: In a New Light (2019) should so spectacularly reinvigorate this most establishment of circuses.

While its plot is barely discernible, the show ties together wonderfully on vibes alone. A fool (Eric Davis) takes the throne, and then intermittently clowns around alongside a group of chattering aristocrats with Jim-Henson-esque noses. As is tradition, these mimed interludes provide the audience with breathing room (if you’re being kind), or periods of resentful stagnation (if you’re not). Unusually, however, the principal clown duo (Pablo Gomis Lopes and Pablo Bermejo Medina) manage to mime an at-times genuinely affecting bromance-cum-romance.

Costumes (Dominique Lemieux) are ornate and dazzling, from glittering rags to tattered brocade. The set (Anne-Séguin Poirier), too, is memorable, with a golden throne its focal point, backed by arches of tangled roots which reach up to become a halo-like crown of thorns.

Yet the true stars, as ever, are Cirque du Soleil’s world-class circus performers. Highlights include an astonishingly virile performance on the crossed wheel (Jonathan Morin), and the final set-piece: an aerial show, in which the best part of a dozen trapeze artists soar and tumble directly onto an enormous net suspended over the audience’s heads. The quality of the acts never dips, and there is a sense that this show, more than any in recent years, is buoyed by a true enthusiasm. (After all, “alegría” is Spanish for “joy”.) This throwback of a show is a wonderful return to form — out with the new, and in with old!

Playing at the Royal Albert Hall 11 January – 3 March 2024.