Rethinking the Circus

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The idea of Cirque du Soleil might invite images of extravagant live shows with clowns, acrobats and fire breathers. The company is trying to change that. Cirque du Soleil came out of the pandemic in rough shape. So it decided to build a more expansive, catastrophe-proof brand — aiming to sell not just shows but also sunglasses, perfumes and video games, as my colleague Emma Goldberg wrote in a story documenting its transformation. “Cirque is a funny example of an attempt at cultural reinvention because I don’t even think of circuses as trying to be relevant,” Emma told me. “They were asking the question, ‘Why isn’t Gen Z interested in the circus?’ That almost feels rhetorical. It’s because 5-year-olds are into the circus.” The decision came after months of meetings with consultants. Because they were talking about the circus instead of, say, banking, people dropped phrases like, “I think there’s a real opportunity to elevate the art of clowning” and “Don’t focus on the Cirque, focus on the Soleil.”