If you were considering adapting the much-loved British television series Shaun the Sheep for the stage, would circus be your first option? Would Aardman’s animated animals from Mossy Bottom Farm come to life if played by acrobats?

Yaron Lifschitz, the Artistic Director of Circa Contemporary Circus, freely admits that when the idea was first suggested to him he wasn’t sure. But as soon as he met the team at Aardman and began discussing ideas with them, his hesitation evaporated – though it still took a lot of playing around, dead-ends and rewriting before he was convinced they were on the right track.

Rehearsals for Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show. Photograph courtesy of Circa Contemporary Circus

Blending animation, theatre, film and live acrobatics to present a show that is packed full of mischief and playful adventure, Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show has its world premiere in the Lyric Theatre, QPAC next month, with previews from 2 March and the official opening on 6 March.

Speaking to Limelight, Lifschitz is proud of just how sophisticated the show has become; a show that he believes will appeal as much, if not more, to adults as to children.

Shaun the...