Cirque du Soleil’s OVO Transforms the Canadian Tire Centre into a Bug’s-Eye Wonderland

You’ll never look at insects the same way again after experiencing OVO, Cirque du Soleil’s dazzling, bug-themed spectacle now playing at the Canadian Tire Centre.

As you take your seat, the lights are dim and the sounds of a summer night hum—crickets chirping, frogs croaking—setting the mood for an immersive journey into a bustling insect ecosystem. Over the next two-plus hours, a cast of flying, leaping, spinning, and contorting bugs will transform the arena into a magical microcosm of the natural world.

OVO (Portuguese for “egg”) premiered in Montréal in 2009 under Cirque’s iconic big top before evolving into an arena-format show in 2016, touring more than 30 cities around the globe. The production is directed and choreographed by Brazilian artist Deborah Colker, whose movement-driven vision brings the insect world to life with uncanny realism and incredible grace.

From the moment the bugs begin to emerge—some crawling from the stage floor, others fluttering in midair—you’re drawn into a world where even the most unsettling critters are elevated to high art. Familiar creatures, like a charming ladybug, a mischievous praying mantis, and a crooning cockroach, share the stage with more abstract, dazzlingly costumed insects, each a celebration of biodiversity and imagination.

In classic Cirque fashion, comedy weaves through the spectacle. An adorable bug-clown (yes, bugs can be cute) acts as the show’s MC, jabbering in an invented language but universally understood thanks to his physical comedy. He’s a consistent source of laughter and applause, particularly in his antics with the glittery, spindle-limbed blue outsider bug who arrives carrying the mysterious giant egg — the “ovo” itself.

The show opens high above with a pair of bumblebees perched inside gently swaying flowers, before diving into the action on the forest floor, where red-clad ants juggle kiwis, corn, and eventually each other. A dragonfly swoops in with aerial acrobatics, battling menacing bugs on a mist-shrouded stage of lily pads.

Two flies perform breathtaking aerial stunts, twisting their bodies into impossible shapes and dangling from one another in holds that defy anatomy. The act closes with a stunning display of trapeze artistry, as costumed performers soar and spin through the air, leaving the audience breathless and hungry for more.

The musical score—rhythmic, percussive, and infused with Brazilian flair—is performed live by a hidden ensemble. Occasionally, a musician dressed as a cockroach steps on stage to sing, play the violin, or squeeze an accordion, blurring the lines between band and bug.

The second act soars even higher. A moth-like aerialist spins like a top while suspended by its neck. The outsider bug finds love with the ladybug, and in true Cirque fashion, the story includes themes of acceptance and unity.

More jaw-dropping moments follow: a contortionist spider whose limbs seem boneless, a flea who performs trapeze tricks on an arc-shaped rig, and green-suited insects that bounce from a vertical wall in a frenzied, gravity-defying finale. The sheer athleticism is astonishing.

At curtain call, the insects unmask, revealing the very human performers beneath the costumes — a reminder that this seemingly alien world was brought to life not by AI or CGI, but by the skill and artistry of Cirque’s international troupe.

OVO is at the Canadian Tire Centre until Sunday, July 6. Tickets start at $51 and are available through Ticketmaster.

PHOTOS by Marie-Andrée Lemire with costumes by Liz Vandal. Courtesy Cirque du Soleil