Rules and riders: Secrets from the Shaun The Sheep tour

An Australian circus troupe has helped take Shaun The Sheep to the live stage for a planned world tour — here’s how they did it.

Eyes may be the window to the soul.

But on the Shaun The Sheep tour, they are the non-negotiable gateway to transferring a world famous stop-animation character to the live stage.

Shaun, from the stable of British studio Aardman, will corral into the Regent Theatre this week, as part of a world tour collaboration with Australian circus company, Circa.

However, the slapstick antics associated with the beloved farmyard flock do not extend to the rules and regulations regarding Shaun, a TV favourite screened in 170 countries, and which ranks as Aardman’s most famous brand.

Shaun, who first appeared on another Aardman hit, Wallace and Gromit, also celebrates a 25 year milestone in 2022.

“It’s joyous collaboration,” Circa’s artistic director Yaron Lifschitz said.

“But working with a well known brand means there are a lot of rules.

“There are 46 eyes, and each one is hand made and individually approved by Aardman. We got notes like, ‘Move the pupil on the pig half a millimetre to the left’, or ‘the eye on that sheep is off centre by half a millimetre. It’s literally that kind of detail,” Lifschitz says.

He added: “Their eyes are calibrated differently. Scale is very important to (Aardman). The sheep have a theoretical scale, every character’s size matters, and also colours and textures in the show.

Shaun the Sheep's Circus Show performers, from top to bottom: Skip Walker-Milne, Jon Bonaventura and Nathan Boyle. Picture: Glenn Hunt / The Australian

The eyes have it … Shaun The Sheep Circus Show with those all-important pupils. Picture: Supplied

Ngaio Harding-Hill, from Aardman, says: “There’s a wealth of guides, support and assets we’ve built up over these years for Shaun. There are certain red lines … but rules are there to be adapted rather than enforced.”

Indeed, Lifschitz had an offbeat idea that was processed and approved.

“I rang Aardman and said, ‘I wanna do a thing where the sheep shears herself in a burlesque act. They said, ‘Great, that sounds awesome!’”

Shaun The Sheep’s Circus Show combines Aardman’s comedic storylines and family themes with Circa’s acrobatics, hoop diving, trapeze, trampolining and juggling.

“It’s not a suit-to-stage show,” Lifschitz says.

Whirling wool in a scene from Shaun The Sheep’s Circus show. Picture: Prudence Upton

“I don’t want to besmirch Peppa Pig or anything, but we’re not doing that show. This is a big, imaginative theatrical adventure full of creativity, mischief and physical action.”

The tour travels in several semi-trailers and takes 20 performers and production crew on the road. Aardman and Circa plan to tour the show globally, if borders reopen.

Alice Muntz performing A Star Is Shorn. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Racks of lamb … a scene from Shaun The Sheep’s Circus Show. Picture: Prudence Upton

Harding-Hill said Brisbane-based Circa’s indie charm appealed to the Brighton-based Aardman team.

“We say ‘no’ to more things than we say ‘yes’ to,” she said.

“We loved Circa’s contemporary spirit. The nuance in their performances and the humour they’ve extracted is so spot on.”

Lifschitz says: “It was instantly a meeting of, ‘Oh, you’re one of us. You can do weird s---, you didn’t go to Hollywood, and you don’t dress everyone in Lycra and prance around the stage.’”

Lifschitz says the Shaun The Sheep tour rider is no-frills — plenty of water and coffee.

“We need space before a show to do warm ups and skills practise,” he says.

“On stage, there’s a lot of running, tumbling and splatting. When the performers get off stage, they are drenched.

“I yanked the coffee machine out of the office to take it on tour because we always need caffeine.”

He adds laughing: “In case you’re wondering, there’s no lamb backstage.”

Shaun The Sheep’s Circus Show, Regent Theatre, April 14 to 18. Tickets: Ticketmaster.