This show certainly does feature some big marionettes: a virtually life-sized Giraffe, an Elephant, and a Lion. The Elephant is actually slightly under life-size and the Lion slightly over, which caused me some inclination to quibble, but they are big and impressive nonetheless. Indeed, the whole visual aspect of the show is well conceived with the lighting design working well to augment the spectacle.

We are greeted as we enter by miniature versions of these giant puppets, and then about eight circus-looking types enter the space, taking up positions behind the mighty beasts. Two clownish characters in oversize top hats that cover their eyes then perform a slapstick routine in which they try to find each other, with some missing and bumping-into. This is perhaps only actually funny to the very small children, whom it soon becomes apparent the show is pitched towards. The clowns fight over a giant key, that is later used to wind up the animals (or one of them at least), but initially to bring life our Ringmaster.

This is an engaging character, who develops an effective rapport with the audience. He calls out the mini versions of the large marionettes we met earlier, who perform some circus routines. The manipulation is effective enough, but when they create an ‘animal tower’, it really irks me that Elephant should so clearly lose contact with his colleagues and cannot possibly be imagined to be physically supported! Throughout the show the puppet manipulation is functional rather than impressive, with the giant marionettes very often floating several inches above the ground.

War Horse this is not, and there’s little danger of believing for one minute that these creatures are alive. This is hard to do when the puppets are this large, but also when they aren’t engaged in any emotionally-motivated actions. The creatures perform circus tricks, but they do not feature in any kind of narrative. The Giraffe vaguely dances about and sings, but there’s no opportunity for us to imagine how she might feel about that. There are glimpses of hunger and aggression in the Lion, but no developments that cause a change to that very basic mood, so no emotional journey

There is a nicely played Circus Strongman, whose act is amusingly interrupted by a giant butterfly, giving a satisfying twist. Then a Lion Tamer in a full mask engages with the mighty Lion marionette, whose jaws make a satisfying snapping sound, and then a shoal of giant fish swim through the space. Again, this is visually impressive but lacks narrative dynamic or development. They swim about for 5 minutes and then go because, as the Ringmaster tells us, ‘Playtime must end.’

This educational vein resurfaces at different points throughout the show, but I’m not sure how effective it will be as a learning experience. The Ringmaster tells us that ‘love is good’ and that we must eat our vegetables if we want to join the circus. This incitement to positivity reaches a crescendo at the end when he invites us all to dance, declaiming the slogans of ‘Pure Happiness, Joy, Love’ and ‘Peace’ in the ‘Circus with no violence.’ Very few of the five year olds are sufficiently inspired to dance, let alone their parents, and the sentiment seems tacked on. There simply has been virtually nothing within the narrative or action that has anything to do with these positive sentiments, and I wonder if this theatrical experience might have planted the seeds of cynicism within the developing minds of some of young children present.

My general impression is that much time has been spent on the impressive visual elements, and considerably less on any narrative or, indeed, action. Too many sections are drawn out for longer than the material needs, and feel like time-filling. The Ringmaster makes an admirable stab at taking us on a journey, but the script could have been written the day before. Still, the many young children in the audience seemed to be engaged, but this is not a family show in the sense that it will appeal to all ages.