It takes Mark Ward at least two hours to apply the make-up he needs to transform into the ringmaster in Quidam.
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But when it's time for the 22-year Cirque Du Soleil veteran to leave the venue after the last show he'll be ready to go in two minutes.
"I'm the last one still doing my make-up every day even though I've started earlier, but I'm the first one on the bus," he laughs.
His close proximity to the crowd means the hours of careful layering and blending are important to make his face so smooth it looks airbrushed, Ward says.
Moulding his hair into its eye-catching quiff takes a lot of hair spray, three colours, a hairdryer and patience.
For the creative minds behind Quidam even the details the audience mightn't see are important right down to customised yellow Doc Marten boots worn by the principal character Zoe and delicately hand-painted with flowers.
It's all to bring to life Zoe's story when the little girl escapes into a fantastical world after feeling alienated from her parents in what Ward describes as Cirque's most human and relatable show and the first to use real world clothing as the basis for its costumes.
"Quidam is a classic Cirque Du Soleil show and it's very sad for us that it's going to end," he says of the show's final tour ending in Australia and New Zealand.
"You'll see the show and you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll think 'isn't that strange or exciting'."
Quidam's artistic director Marjon Van Grunsven said the "iconic" Cirque show, first performed in 1996, encompasses many things including art, dance, acrobatics and "amazing" costumes, live music, lighting and set design.
"It touches every emotion that we have, sadness, happiness, love, anger, fear, joy," she says.
"If it was 100 years from now [Quidam] would still work simply because of the human interactions that [creator] Franco [Dragone] has put on stage, or the non-interactions which are the problem of this world... we're all on our phones, there's no real communication if we're not careful.
"His big message with this show is making sure we continue to connect with each other on a human being level."
The show begins with Zoe sitting in her living room being ignored by her parents, when a strange creature in the form of a headless man named Quidam – Latin for stranger or passer-by – knocks on her door and brings to life all the creatures of her imaginary world, Van Grunsven says.
"Slowly you see Zoe grow up and become more realistic about life and it draws the parents closer again," she says.
"The audience doesn't necessarily have to understand it that way, everyone needs to come to the show with an open mind and open heart and their own interpretation, what's very clear is it's about connecting."
Cirque du Soleil's Quidam tour begins in Canberra at the AIS Arena from December 10 to 20. Wollongong from December 23 to January 2 at the WIN Entertainment Centre. Hobart from January 6 to 10 at the Derwent Entertainment Centre. Newcastle from January 15 to 24 at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre. To buy tickets or for more information visit: cirquedusoleil.com/quidam.
