Carnival of the Animals

I’m not sure what the collective noun for onesies is but almost half the audience were dressed in them for the opening of Circa’s Carnival of the Animals. Inspired by the music of Camille Saint-Saens, Circa presented a series of vignettes using seven dazzling performers. This was black box circus, no tent or straw or rickety bleachers to contend with, and more conveniently no over-priced fairy floss and drunken clowns. The stage was almost bare except for a few suitcases which were essentially underused. It wasn’t entirely clear why they were there, and it was no clearer at the end of the show when the bags returned.  
 
This must have been a very fun show to research and rehearse. The performers, all unnamed, dressed in black and white with Tudor ruffs and simple coloured noses were all good.  They were in their transformational element, contorting and counterbalancing their way through various incarnations of animalia. From fish, to bees, to crabs to caterpillars, elephants and zebras there were numerous shapes their seemingly rubbery bodies made, which kept the audience highly engaged without a word being said. 

The acrobatics were exciting enough to keep little eyes agog, but these tricks added nothing new to those who have seen circus before. There was some rather clever antics with pieces of paper, which I can only describe as paper juggling, it’s unexpected and silly in the good sense but perhaps could have been explored a little more as it is quick and clever like the many scenes. Animated projections along the upstage cyclorama assisted with transitions and added to the colour and movement.
 
The neurotic chooks were a highlight, and had me in stitches; and the ants, represented by a plethora of busy red balloons were also a treat for the senses. The oversized balloons which were released into auditorium could have kept us all there for hours, it was great fun as kids got to burst out of their seats including my eight year old who came to life at this point.

This is abstract theatre, where there is no storyline, or point to the show. It’s a series of unrelated scenes, some funnier than others, a little too expositional at times, but clever in parts and enjoyable. Don’t expect any pantomime or  ‘he’s behind you’ theatre, as the audience engagement is kept to minimum. Just keep an eye out for the amourous sharks.  
 
This was light and easy circus at its core. Beautifully presented, it lacked the danger one might expect with most circus performance, but this was after all for three to ten year olds. Perhaps that collective noun could be a carnival of onesies.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5