Circa: Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show

Aviva Studios, Manchester
December 30, 2025

He has six million Facebook fans and ten billion views on YouTube. Having first appeared in Aardman Animations’ Wallace and Grommit: A Close Shave thirty years ago (how time flies!), Shaun the Sheep has long been a global superstar, known audiences in over 170 countries through many series of television shorts and longer films. But Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show?

It’s not as crazy as it seems. After all, the opening credits of each of his adventures at Mossy Bottom Farm does include a scene where he and the flock amuse themselves with trapeze, juggling, aerial silks and tightrope walking. And if Shaun and friends are going to meet circus on stage, it’s difficult to imagine a better company than Australian contemporary circus ensemble, Circa, to team up with.

The result is a lot of fun: eighty minutes or so of physical theatre, tricks, impressive acrobatics. The show also includes much of the humour, mischief and anarchy of the television series and films, although it is generally slower-paced and never quite achieves the same punch and zip. But then, filling eighty minutes is a lot different to filling seven.

The first act of the show, directed by Yaron Lifschitz, introduces the characters, before setting up the narrative. Whether it helps or hinders if one is intimately knowledgeable with Aardman’s screen animations, I’m not sure. It certainly allows one to associate better with the characters, but equally leaves space for disappointment.

Closest to the television shorts are the Farmer, who perhaps interestingly drew most reaction from the children in the audience, and the gang of three snide, antagonist pigs, quite brilliantly played throughout. After a promising start in which the long-suffering dog, Bitzer, is well-captured, the character fades a little.

While each sheep character has individual eyes, with the exception of the rotund Shirley, she of the big heart and even bigger appetite, individuals do rather get lost in the flock, including Shaun, who is far less prominent than one might expect. The performers all speak using animal noises and gibberish, as in the animation, although there’s a lot more ‘baa-ing’ than I recall. Disappointingly, not a single individual performer is identified.

The story starts with the Farmer taking delivery of a new television. After a drawn-out tale of him struggling to get it working, his extremely long satellite dish lead is accidentally cut in two by one of the flock. In Act Two, in an attempt to save the day, they, Bitzer the dog and the pigs come together to entertain him by creating live entertainment of their own, which they beam into his living room, so he thinks it’s regular programming.

But there’s the rest of Act One to get through first, and the story is rather parked as the audience are shown three mini-stories, not unlike what one might see on television: Paper Plane, Runaway Tyre, and The Postman. All three, indeed the whole of Act One, has a distinct focus on physical comedy, clowning and slapstick, and prop-based gags rather than acrobatic circus skills.

The action all takes place against scenic designer Dan Portra’s very impressive, steeply sloping set of green fields with the farmhouse near the top of the hill. Set into the slope is a rectangular cut-out that becomes a close-up of the farmer’s front room. The hill seems perfect for acrobatics or simply sliding down, so it’s surprising it’s used so little.

A huge billboard that’s wheeled on shows some amusing puns, and is also used to good effect in the Paper Place episode, but it does have a tendency to draw the eye away from the live action.

Act Two returns to the story about the satellite signal, but also has much more of the sort of circus skills one expects from Circa. Indeed, the narrative here is more prominent than I can remember in any other production (no doubt Aardman’s influence), the circus skills very much woven into the story rather than vice-versa, as it can sometimes feel. They never feel like tricks for their own sake.

The acrobatics are genuinely impressive. Among the many classic circus moments, the highlights include a wonderful aerial silks routine that had the audience gasping at times; a very colourful scene with illuminated juggling clubs, hoops and diabolo; and a terrific triple trapeze routine for the three pigs. The billboard is brought back to show close-ups and facial expressions but I remain unconvinced of its need.

One scene that doesn’t quite work shows a sheep shearing herself. I understand it was originally done as if she was a stripper, but was reined back because it was too sexy. Unfortunately, that also stripped it of all its impact and humour.

Indeed, if there’s one thing Circa seem to have missed, it’s that, while Shaun the Sheep, whether on television or film, may nominally be a children’s show, it’s far from aimed solely at them. I once saw it described as ‘Wallace and Gromit Lite,’ which is about right.

Jethro Woodward’s music fits the action well, and makes predictable but good use of the familiar theme music.

Shuan the Sheep’s Circus Show is enjoyable; very enjoyable. Watching and listening to the delighted reaction of the youngsters was all part of fun. And they did love it, but then it plays to their likes. Tumbling, climbing, falling are all part of children’s play, although admittedly nothing like as much as in my day. It’s also a show that proves theatre doesn’t have to be loud or shouty to have impact. And while it may miss some of the adult appeal of Aardman’s animations, there’s still a lot here for us oldies to enjoy too.

You need to get your skates on but there is still time to catch the flock. Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show is at Aviva Studios, Manchester to January 4, 2026.