The dazzling spectacle and exciting aerials that are hallmarks of any Cirque du Soleil performance will be on display in San Antonio this fall, as a spellbinding new production of OVO comes to the Alamo City.
Performances will be at the Frost Bank Center from September 25-28. Tickets are on sale now. San Antonio is one of three Texas stops on the tour. OVO will also appear at the Toyota Center in Houston from October 2-5 and the Moody Center in Austin from from October 9-12.
OVO, from the Portuguese word for egg, tells the story of a fascinating insect colony, using 53 acrobats and musicians in the performance. Audiences can expect to see an array of beguiling bugs, from mighty crickets bouncing off trampolines to a hypnotic spider contorting inside her web.
Since its opening in Montreal in 2009, the show has been seen by more than seven million people in 40 different countries. This tour, the production has been entirely reimagined, including a new set design and acrobatic acts, revamped costumes, original characters, and reinvented music.
San Antonians of all ages are bound to be captivated. Cirque du Soleil is synonymous with spectacular displays of flexibility, acrobatics, and gravity-defying aerial work. Blending music, fantastical stories, and sheer wonder, the artistic troupe has legions of fans across the globe.
Along with the tour announcement, Cirque du Soleil has released a preview trailer for OVO.
Photo by Marie-Andrée Lemire
Cirque du Soleil's OVO takes audiences inside an insect colony.
One of the most well-known horror tropes of the 1980s was that anyone who had sex in a particular film would inevitably be killed shortly thereafter. The new horror film Leviticusupdates that trope for the 21st century, with the added bonus of pointed commentary that unfortunately remains as relevant as ever.
Naim (Joe Bird) and his mother (Mia Wasikowska) have recently moved to a new town in Australia. Naim hasn’t made many new friends except for Ryan (Stacy Clausen), with whom he is exploring a rundown factory as the film begins. The teenage boys discover an attraction toward each other, something they try to keep hidden since the church they both attend abhors homosexuality.
When Naim sees Ryan kissing another boy, he rashly tells a church elder about it, leading to the church forcing Ryan and the other boy — and eventually Naim — to go through a conversion ceremony. But instead of making them believe they’re not gay, the rite conjures a demon, invisible to anyone but them, that takes the form of the person to which they’re attracted.
Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Adrian Chiarella, the film is the latest example of Australia being a hotbed for horror movies. Referencing the same-named Bible chapter that some interpret as forbidding homosexuality, it turns into an intense and clever journey into paranoia. Ryan and Naim still see each other all the time, but they can never trust that the person in front of them is real.
Chiarella makes the most of his limited resources, utilizing dark scenes and dirty locations to complement the already-creepy vibe. But what makes the story hit the hardest is the understanding that boys like Naim and Ryan are almost literally trapped in their small town, unable to find a safe space to be who they are. An unseen demon trying to kill them is one thing, but the unsympathetic people around them feel almost as malevolent.
While the 90-minute film maintains its momentum for the most part, there are times when Chiarella loses the thread on his story logic. At first, it seems as if the demon only attacks when one of the boys gives in to temptation. But as the film progresses, the filmmaker plays a little fast and loose with that reasoning. Certain decisions by the characters also strain credulity, lessening the impact of the story to a degree.
Both Bird (Talk to Me) and Clausen give naturalistic performances that rarely feel as if they’re acting. Wasikowska, who was the “It girl” for a while after starring in two Alice in Wonderland movies, is the only face American audiences will likely know. She does well, especially considering it’s difficult to believe she’s already old enough to credibly play a mother of a teenager.
With a timely theme about the harmful effects of conversion therapy on gay people and a twist on a tired horror trope, Leviticus is another notch in the belt for 2026 as a great horror movie year. With more experience under his belt, Chiarella will likely be able to figure out how to smooth over the bumps in the storytelling he showed this time around.
