Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities at a glance

Show
Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities (Cirque du Soleil)
Venue
Royal Albert Hall
Address
Kensington Gore, London SW7 2AP
Nearest station
South Kensington
Genre
Circus and acrobatics
Running time
About 2 hours 5 minutes, including one interval
Age guidance
All ages; under-14s must be accompanied by an adult; children aged 3+ need their own ticket
Dates
13 January – 28 February 2027 (billed as non-extendable)
Schedule
Wednesday to Sunday, with matinees on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
Price range
From £52.75 (typically £52.75–£178)
Created and directed by
Michel Laprise
Company
Cirque du Soleil

Our Take: Kurios: Cabinet of Curiosities at the Royal Albert Hall

4.5
★★★★★

LTH Anticipation Rating

Written by the London Theatre Hub editorial team. Last updated: 26 October 2026. This is an editorial anticipation rating — the production had not opened in London when we wrote this, and we will review it after it opens.

Why it's worth booking

Cirque du Soleil's January visit to the Royal Albert Hall has been a fixture of the London calendar for thirty years, and Kurios is the production that did best there. When it arrived in 2023 for the Hall's 150th anniversary, it became the most successful Cirque show ever presented in the building, and it has since been seen by more than seven million people in around fifty cities.

The appeal is its world. Rather than a parade of acts, Kurios builds a single imaginary place: the laboratory of an inventor who believes a hidden universe exists just out of sight. Its look borrows from the Victorian era and the Industrial Revolution — brass, gears, odd machines — and the acrobatics emerge from that setting. Our rating is an anticipation rating based on that track record; this year's season was announced as strictly non-extendable, so it is worth booking early.

What Makes It Special

  • The Hall's biggest Cirque hit. Kurios became the most successful Cirque du Soleil production ever presented at the Royal Albert Hall during its 2023 season.
  • A complete imaginary world. A steampunk setting inspired by the Victorian era and the Industrial Revolution, built around an inventor called the Seeker.
  • Seen around the world. Since its Montreal premiere in 2014, Kurios has played to more than seven million people in about fifty cities.
  • Thirty years at the Hall. Cirque du Soleil first performed at the Royal Albert Hall in 1996; this season marks three decades of the partnership.
  • Strictly seven weeks. Unlike some past Cirque seasons, this run has been billed as non-extendable.

You'll love Kurios if you...

  • Want a spectacular family outing in the January school term
  • Enjoy acrobatics, contortion and physical stunts
  • Like steampunk and Victorian-inspired design
  • Have never seen Cirque du Soleil live
  • Want a show that works without needing to follow dialogue

It might not be for you if you...

  • Prefer story-driven theatre with dialogue
  • Saw Kurios at the Hall in 2023 and want something new
  • Want budget tickets — prices are high for the best seats
  • Dislike large arena-style venues
  • Find loud music and spectacle overwhelming

Best for

  • Families
  • Circus lovers
  • First Cirque visit
  • Special occasions
  • Visitors to London
  • All ages

Less suited to audiences who want a dialogue-led play or an intimate theatre experience.

Critical Reception

The 2027 season begins on 13 January and has not yet been reviewed. When Kurios played the Royal Albert Hall in 2023 it was well received, with critics praising its visual invention and the quality of its acts. Verified rating from that run:

  • Time Out (2023) ★★★★
  • 2027 season Reviews to follow

Source: published reviews of Kurios at the Royal Albert Hall, January 2023.

Everything You Need to Know

What happens in Kurios?

Kurios is set in an alternate version of the 19th century, inside the workshop of an inventor known as the Seeker. He is convinced that a hidden, invisible world exists alongside our own, full of the wildest ideas and the grandest dreams.

The cabinet opens

When the Seeker unlocks his curio cabinet, a cast of strange characters steps out of it and into his mechanical world, bringing his inventions to life one after another.

A celebration of imagination

The story is light — a frame for a sequence of acrobatic, contortion and aerial acts — but every act belongs to the same world, which is what sets Kurios apart from a traditional circus line-up. The idea running through it is simple: what we can achieve when we trust our imagination.