Circa’s ‘Carnival of the Animals’ comes to Ithra

“Carnival of the Animals” came to the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture in Dharan this week, filling Ithra’s stage with zebras, elephants and kangaroos. But they were all in human form.

To present what Circa bills as the carnival’s “whimsical tales of creatures of land and sea,” the performers — wearing white shirts and black leggings, and with red noses and bare feet — flip, fly, leap, spin and tumble their way across the stage as music pounds and the screen behind them displays various scenes from the animal kingdom.

The majority of the show is all about movement and demonstrating how to push the human body to extremes to imitate animals. There is little dialogue, allowing young viewers — who make up the majority of the audience — an opportunity to fill in the blanks with their own narratives. Despite the minimal script, slapstick comedy is evident in every scene.

Created by Yaron Lifschitz and the Circa Ensemble, the show is part of the new wave of contemporary Australian circus. The Circa Contemporary Circus has established itself as one of the world’s leading performance companies since it started 19 years ago. Originally from Brisbane, Circa has toured the world, performing in more than 40 countries to over 1.5 million people.

“‘Carnival of the Animals’ whisks you away on a thrilling circus escapade inspired by Camille Saint-Saëns’ delightful salute to feathers, fur and fins. Circa’s acrobats bring this classical-music suite to life for a whole new generation of circus, music and animal lovers,” the show’s promotional material states.

At the end of the performance, giant red balloons were released into the roaring crowd as the cast celebrated.

Tickets for “Carnival of the Animals” cost from SR60 ($16) and can be purchased via the Ithra website. The last show is on Saturday, July 15.