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September 2, 2026 • 10 mins

On today's show, we're joined by Layla and Dizzy from Cirque Alice, who play Alice and The Mad Hatter respectively!

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Featuring Jason Hoyte, Mike Minogue, and Keyzie, "The Big Show" drive you home weekdays from 4pm on Radio Hauraki.

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The Hauraki Big Show with Jase, Mike and Keezy. Tune
in weekdays at 4 on Radio Hauraki.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
Yes, indeed. Nirvana there on the Radio Hauraki Big Show
this Wednesday evening. Now, the fellas have been waxing lyrical
the last couple of days about a theatre show that
they went to see.

Speaker 3 (00:18):
Cirque Alice. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (00:20):
And they both went to see it on a Friday night.
Both of them gave it rave reviews. Five stars out
of five from recollection, fellas.

Speaker 3 (00:30):
I will take it.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
We've got two of the stars from that very show,
Cirque Alice. Dizzy and Layla, how are you going?

Speaker 4 (00:41):
We're good.

Speaker 3 (00:42):
You speak first, Layla. Yeah, I'm good.

Speaker 5 (00:44):
I'm so great to be here.

Speaker 4 (00:47):
So we've got Layla and Dizzy. So Layla, you are Alice.

Speaker 5 (00:51):
Yes.

Speaker 4 (00:51):
Dizzy, you are the Mad Hatter.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
I am.

Speaker 4 (00:53):
First things first, Alice, magnificent voice.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
Aw, thank you.

Speaker 5 (00:57):
I really appreciate that.

Speaker 4 (00:58):
Because I've seen a Cirque du Soleil show before. It
was one of the ones in the tent. It was
in the round and there was no sort of singing
and performing and stuff. And then you came out and
had this amazing operatic voice. And I was like, holy cow.

Speaker 5 (01:10):
Awesome, thanks.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:12):
I mean, does it take much sort of warming up
and things like that?

Speaker 3 (01:14):
Absolutely.

Speaker 6 (01:15):
It does take a lot of warming up. I think
even this morning I was trying to get my voice
to start happening today and it was taking like two hours.

Speaker 1 (01:22):
I was like, ah.

Speaker 4 (01:23):
What do you do for that?

Speaker 6 (01:25):
You've got to steam. Sometimes vocalists use a vocal humidifier.
There's a vocal mist and stuff.

Speaker 4 (01:32):
Some people do straw work.

Speaker 6 (01:33):
But it's just a lot of SOVT stuff to warm
up your voice.

Speaker 2 (01:38):
I used to do five cigarettes and a couple of whiskeys.

Speaker 4 (01:41):
Yeah, that's pretty good too.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
And I used to find that that really loosened up
the larynx.

Speaker 5 (01:45):
And when he sang, it sounded horrendous. So I suggest
you don't try that. Dizzy, tell us about the show, man,
for people that don't know anything about it. give us
a bit of an explainer.

Speaker 3 (01:56):
So you mentioned it's uh you saw the circus slave
version inside a tent the producers have basically done a
runway catwalk with a big round stage on the stage
but it's a lot smaller so it's about the size
of this table what is this maybe 15 feet yeah
15 feet round and then they've got vips that sit
on the stage.

Speaker 5 (02:15):
Wow i wasn't invited up there does he i don't
know what they're pretty expensive seats.

Speaker 3 (02:19):
I believe but i believe they're all sold out um
But sitting there, you're just immersed in like seeing the
sweat and the actual, because nowadays we're watching stuff on phones.
Is it real?

Speaker 5 (02:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (02:34):
Seeing these guys.

Speaker 4 (02:35):
You're up in the action.

Speaker 3 (02:36):
You're part of it. For the producers and the directors
pushing us to be on stage for the finale trick
of every single act that they do, like we'll come
out as a whole company and just stand and watch
the finale final trick. It's death defying and we have
to stand there with a straight face and when they
change just a slight bit, it's just like, This is it. Like,

(02:57):
you've seen some of the acts that they're doing.

Speaker 4 (02:58):
So that's the bizarre thing is you all get into
the Civic Theatre, you're all sitting in the tiered seating,
and then there are people that are sitting on tables
literally one metre away from the action. There were four
Kiwi dudes sitting to the right of stage on the
first night, and they were on the beers, and I
feel like they didn't realise what they were in for.
They had the biggest eyes, the biggest expressions. It was incredible.

Speaker 5 (03:19):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (03:20):
And you guys are up on stage feet away from
these people doing the most bizarre stuff. Like, tell me.

Speaker 3 (03:26):
I think I remember these guys and they were asked
to keep their seatbelts on. It was that kind of situation.
They were freaking. I remember that.

Speaker 4 (03:34):
It was brilliant because it was so expressive. But Mike
and I had the same experience, which is we went there,
we watched it. It was amazing, very entertaining, beautiful singing,
good performing. Very stressful. Super stressful. I'm like, please let
everyone get through this okay. Do you guys feel the
same watching the performances around you?

Speaker 6 (03:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (03:52):
Well, that's where I come in, where I'm the comedic relief.

Speaker 5 (03:55):
Yes, right.

Speaker 3 (03:56):
I come in, what, 15 to 20 minutes into the show?

Speaker 2 (03:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (03:59):
So the audience are already begging for, like, let me
just breathe. Yeah, 100%. So my job is so easy. Like,
they're just begging to relax.

Speaker 5 (04:14):
You know how good the Hodaki Big Show podcast is?

Speaker 4 (04:18):
Yeah, I love those fellas.

Speaker 5 (04:20):
Backbone.

Speaker 3 (04:21):
Yeah, backbone.

Speaker 5 (04:22):
You get it.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
You've got to get around the live radio show.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
Oh, you?

Speaker 3 (04:26):
When's that?

Speaker 5 (04:27):
Four to seven weekdays on Radio Hodaki and iHeartRadio.

Speaker 1 (04:32):
Backbone.

Speaker 3 (04:33):
Nice.

Speaker 1 (04:35):
The Hodaki Big Show podcast.

Speaker 5 (04:37):
For the people at home, what you're watching is different
forms of acrobats. There's people hanging from the ceiling. There's
people on roller skates going a billion miles an hour.
There's people... they're not tethered to anything. I don't know
how it gets past the safety laws of the country, but,
you know, if these people fall, it's all over. And
so it is super, super, super stressful. It's a weird

(04:59):
thing because you think, well, is this entertaining? Because I
think I'm about to watch somebody die. But then you
come out as a hatter and it is a relief.
You're pulling people out of the crowd. You're mocking them.
You're mocking yourself. And it is a huge relief. But
as the show goes on, it gets more and more
stressful because And I'm not sure how much of it is.

Speaker 3 (05:18):
I don't think we're selling tickets by saying this.

Speaker 5 (05:20):
No, we've been talking about it for days. But it's
incredible because then you get the payoff at the end.
But what's amazing about it is what I'm interested in
is how dangerous is it? Because there's got to be
some selling from the performer's point of view as well, right?
To make it seem like it's much more dangerous than
it is, the acting as well as the skill level

(05:42):
is just phenomenal.

Speaker 3 (05:43):
Well, I will say with the directors, the producers that
book these acts, they've gone, right, you do that chiffon.
You fly from the ceiling and do that. We've seen
that before. We don't want it. We want something that
you've never seen. Like the guys that are doing the
flying elements, you haven't seen the way they're gripping each
other by the most unsafe manner.

Speaker 5 (06:05):
Yes.

Speaker 3 (06:05):
And then the hand, you know, everyone's seen somebody balance
on somebody's hands. We don't want to see that. So
let's make it even more, like, impressive epic is the word. Yes.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
Well, that's what sort of de Soleil, as I know it,
is sort of known for is this kind of magnificent physicality.
The first time I met Mike, he was doing trapeze.
And I remember watching him and just going.

Speaker 4 (06:30):
Oh, my word. It was amazing.

Speaker 2 (06:33):
It must just take hours and hours and hours of practice.

Speaker 5 (06:36):
I was just a natural. And sometimes you come across
those people, don't you, that are just natural performers. I'm lying,
by the way. But when it comes to that, I
guess what I've probably seen three or four of these
shows over the over the last few years. How do
you guys and I know this would be annoying because
you've probably been asked a billion times. But how do

(06:57):
you find your way into the circus?

Speaker 6 (07:02):
That's crazy because I'm a musical theatre performer and I've
done music my whole life. I've grown up in a
very musical family. So I had no idea what it
was going to be like being in a circus show.
And it is just like just next level entertaining. Like
you just absolutely are gasping for air. Like honestly, I'm
on stage with these people every night and they're just out.

Speaker 4 (07:22):
Of this world talented.

Speaker 6 (07:24):
Like it is just absolutely amazing the strength that they
have and just like the love that they have for
their art and their acting. Like, it's just beyond what
you can imagine. So, like, I just had no idea
what I was getting myself into with these guys, and
it has been a crazy ride, that's for sure.

Speaker 4 (07:42):
Well, it is, right? Because, obviously, you're a performer with
a beautiful voice. Dizzy, you're very comedic. You know, you're
up there having fun, making people laugh. And then you've
got a guy whose skill is, first of all, being
ripped to shreds.

Speaker 5 (07:53):
Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 4 (07:53):
And hanging upside down with something in his mouth, holding
another performer in her mouth, spinning wildly on, like... It's ridiculous.

Speaker 6 (08:01):
It's like nothing like you've ever seen before.

Speaker 4 (08:03):
No, exactly. And when we say it's stressful, it's in
the best way. It's like not often you go into
a theatre. In fact, I associate theatre traditionally, no offence, with, oh, God,
I hope this is good. I hope I don't fall asleep,
that sort of stuff. Instead, you walk out of there
like you've been on a roller coaster and you've been
watching a movie at the same time. Like, it's bizarre.
You guys must absolutely love doing it, right?

Speaker 3 (08:21):
Yeah, it's awesome. It's amazing. And just the idea, the
story between– behind Alice in Wonderland. Everyone's, you know, seen
the movie or read the book. So coming in, you're going, okay,
we're going to see Alice. And then she comes out.

Speaker 5 (08:34):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (08:34):
She's going to, she's singing, which is incredible. Then the
Tweedles come out. Yeah. They're in the show. Do you know, there's,
Every performer has a character and you just relate to
that and then next minute they blow your minds.

Speaker 6 (08:47):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (08:47):
Tweedledee and Tweedledum were both jacked.

Speaker 2 (08:49):
It was crazy. And, Dizian, I think you made a
really good point. And that's the magic of theatre. You know,
these days we're all on our phones.

Speaker 3 (08:59):
But the.

Speaker 2 (09:01):
The great thing about theatre is the sort of live
element to it. You know, you're in the building, you're
feeling the atmosphere. You know, Mike and I go to
a few plays and, you know, it's a very different
beast as opposed to watching something on your phone, you
know what I mean? Actually seeing live performers.

Speaker 3 (09:19):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (09:19):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (09:21):
For me, I've... Realise, word of mouth, everyone's talking about
the show afterwards. It just says it in ticket sales.
I think we're up to like 90% capacity.

Speaker 5 (09:31):
And so it should be. I really left there and
it makes you feel so positive about the human race.
The things that are possible, the amount of training that
people put into their art, as you say, it's so inspiring.
And my seven-year-old daughter was sitting there with me. Her
greatest passion in life is eating ice cream. And she
had an ice cream and she was sitting there and

(09:52):
her mouth, she was holding it in front of her
and her mouth was open and her ice cream melted down.
That was how it was. amazing it was. You guys
are so incredible. that you made her forget she had
an ice cream. And I can't tell you how big
a feat that is.

Speaker 3 (10:06):
Yeah, that's successful.

Speaker 2 (10:08):
Dizzy and Layla from Sir Callis, thank you so much
for coming in.

Speaker 3 (10:11):
Thank you for having us.

Speaker 2 (10:13):
All the very best for the rest of the season.
It sounds like you're going great guns anyway.

Speaker 4 (10:17):
Yeah, and if you'd like to go and see it
as well, it's on tonight, tomorrow night, Friday, two on
Saturday and two on Sunday. Good luck to you guys.
Big shift ahead. But if you'd like tickets, go to ticketmaster.co.nz. Beautiful.
Thanks for coming in, team.

Speaker 5 (10:29):
Thank you.

Speaker 3 (10:30):
Thank you, guys.

Speaker 1 (10:32):
The Hodaki Beat Show with Jace, Mike and Keezy. Tune
in weekdays at 4 on Radio Hodaki.
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