What is ‘Twas the Night Before,’ Cirque du Soleil’s famous show?

If you love watching surreal French Canadian movement majors testing the physical limits of the human spinal column, then you love Cirque du Soleil. 

And why wouldn’t you? The world renowned circus troupe has been astonishing onlookers for nearly 40 years, daring children young and old to wonder “doesn’t that hurt?” Today, they invite you to ring in the holidays with ‘Twas the Night Before, an original Yuletide performance that mixes things up, instead daring fans to ask “doesn’t that hurt at Christmas?”

‘Twas the Night Before is, to hear the folks at Cirque du Soleil tell it, the company’s “first holiday show,” directed by longtime company veteran James Hadley. It reinterprets the beloved Christmas poem A Visit from Saint Nicolas, retelling it through the eyes of a cynical child who loses their sense of wonder surrounding the holidays, only to get it back with the help of magical, lithe acrobats. It’s a high-end circus in a festive red cup.

The acts are characteristically out of this world. Original, haunting, funky takes on classic holiday songs play over borderline-inhuman performances. Men fly, arms contort in ways equal parts nightmarishly unnatural and impressive. Light and sound twist eerily, hauntingly, forcing the audience to question their eyes. At one point, a dude picks up a lady by her ankles and spins her around like he’s doing a hammer throw. It’s rad.

Family-friendly, bonkers, and almost guaranteed to inspire your kid to jump off of stuff, ‘Twas the Night Before is yet another in a long line of classic Cirque du Soleil shows. Performance dates and locations across the continental United States can be found right here. And yes, what they’re doing almost definitely hurts.