Carnival of the Animals

A clever composer called Camille Saint-Sa?ns once wondered what animals would sound like as pieces of music – what would a growly lion or a skippy kangaroo, an aquarium of fish or a cuckooing cuckoo sound like if they were turned into music notes? Using the music that Camille Saint-Sa?ns composed, Drew Colby (in a collaboration with concert pianist Sarah Kershaw) takes the composer’s musings one step further and imagines what the animals would look like if they were created using just two hands and a light. The Carnival of the Animals has captivated audiences young and old across the UK, and in Israel, Turkey and Germany since its premiere in Yorkshire in 2016. The much-loved music of Camille Saint-Sa?ns combines with the visual magic of Drew Colby’s hand shadows to create a spell-binding, hilarious and (in the words of the children at the preview performances) “amazing and mysterious” virtuoso performance.

Helen Martin Studio