Inspired by French-Romantic composer Camille Saint-Saëns’ delightful salute to feathers, fur and fins, acclaimed Australian circus ensemble Circa will perform its wondrous first work for children, Carnival of the Animals at Arts Centre Melbourne for a limited season from 28 September 2015.
The imaginative fusion of circus, animation and music tells whimsical tales of creatures of land and sea, who tumble, fly, leap and spin their way through the extraordinary worlds of the animal kingdom. Zebras juggle and flip, kangaroos skip and somersault and there are elephants with street-cred and rhythm.
Created by visionary artistic director Yaron Lifschitz, the production brings the joy of the animal kingdom to the stage in a sophisticated and visually stunning physical theatre extravaganza for children and adults. Circa is world renowned for pushing artistic boundaries and creating powerful works of art that thrill, challenge and captivate.
Transforming into creatures from land, sea and sky, seven Circa performers take children and their adults on a journey through the lives of beasts of fur, feathers and fin using high-level circus skills including table sliding, trapeze, acrobatics, juggling and skipping.
For this production Australian composer Quincy Grant reworked and extended the original suites and the Circa performers are accompanied by and interact with animation created by UK-based Australian video designer Michaela French, who said she wanted to re-create the feeling she had as a child when reading book and slipping into an imagined world.
“This was how I imagined the world of Carnival of the Animals, almost as though one slipped into an alternate reality where elephants can dance, frogs ride uni-cycles, gravity is defied, where the magic of the circus is the most important part of life and the entire world can be carried in a small suitcase,’’ said Ms French.
Since 2004, Circa has been at the frontier of new circus. Highly sought after across the globe for their innovative blend of movement, dance, theatre, music and acrobatics that boldly reimagines circus as an art form, they have performed at the world’s leading venues and festivals.
During the season of Carnival of Animals, children and their families also have the chance to experience other performances including the tiny circus world of The Teensy Top – the shortest, sharpest and smallest show in town and allow their imaginations to go wild in the creative world of Polyglot Theatre’s Paper Planet.
Carnival of the Animals
Playhouse – Arts Centre Melbourne, 100 St. Kilda Road, Melbourne
Season: 28 September – 4 October 2015
Bookings: 1300 182 183 or online at: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au
For more information, visit: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au for details.
Image: Carnival of the Animals – photo by Damien Bredberg