Animal kingdom inspires carnival work

The Circa carnival will fly into town on September 30 with whimsical tales of creatures of land and sea, who tumble, fly, leap and spin their way through many wondrous animal kingdoms.

Carnival of the Animals depicts creatures from the land, sea and sky. Performers dressed in elaborate costumes take children and adults on a sublime journey through the lives of the tortoise, the elephant, the kangaroo, the swan, and many others.

Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz said the show was “a wonderful piece”.

“It’s sophisticated and beautiful to look at,” he said.

“It’s playful, it’s lovely and it is a very different kind of show for Circa to be making.

“It really is a work for children, but it doesn't dumb it down in any way.

“It’s that sense of wonder that this project starts with. If you aren’t amazed that there are kangaroos and swans in the same world, you’re kind of not thinking hard enough.”

Carnival of the Animals is a magical reinvention of the classic musical suite by French composer Camille Saint-Saens and features wonderful projections by UK-based Australian video designer Michaela French.

“I wanted to re-create the feeling as a child when I’d read a book and there was the sense it might just be possible to slip into that imagined world and discover it is real,” French said.

Circa performer Kathryn O’Keeffe said the show was an “incredibly fun family show”.

“There are quite a bit of acrobatics – we have juggling clubs, hula hoops, aerial apparatus and quite quirky animals tumbling all around the place,” she said.

“The beauty of the show is we get to have a lot of say, so the skills and the tricks we do in the show are ones we are really passionate about doing.”

Tickets are available from the the Box Office or www.bunburyentertainment.com.