Photo Flash: Berkeley Rep Presents AURELIA’S ORATORIO

Berkeley Repertory Theatre invites you to celebrate the holidays with Aurélia's Oratorio. Aurélia Thierrée literally grew up in the circus and has charmed audiences around the world with this dazzling display of stage illusion. The show was conceived and directed by Aurélia's mother, Victoria Thierrée Chaplin, who - along with her husband, Jean Baptiste Thierrée - created Cirque Bonjour, Cirque Imaginaire, and Cirque Invisible, innovative troupes that inspired Cirque du Soleil.

Performed in the state-of-the-art Roda Theatre, Aurélia's Oratorio begins previews on December 4, opens December 9, and closes January 24. "At Berkeley Rep, we always try to schedule something special for the holidays - not your predictable seasonal fare, but something uniquely enjoyable and theatrical. Aurélia's Oratorio perfectly fits the bill," says Tony Taccone, the Theatre's artistic director. "This show draws on traditional circus techniques to create an ingenious and unexpected evening that is equal parts wit and wonder. We look forward to introducing it to local audiences."

Welcome to Aurélia's Oratorio, where the impossible happens before your eyes. Behind then velvet curtain lies a surreal world of surprises, a topsy-turvy time of tricks and transformations. With dancing, puppetry, acrobatics, and more, Aurélia's Oratorio is an inventive adventure set to a quirky score of chamber music and gypsy jazz. Berkeley Rep unveils this 70-minute spectacle - a concoction of mystery and fantasy for the whole family - with ArKtype Productions in association with Crying Out Loud UK. The executive producers for the local run are Shirley D. and Philip D. Schild, the Strauch Kulhanjian Family, and Jean and Michael Strunsky. Production sponsors include the Bernard Osher Foundation and the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Philanthropic Fund. Season sponsors for Berkeley Rep's 41st year of fearless theatre are BART and Wells Fargo.