SINGAPORE - The circus has come to town.

But there are no four-legged creatures in this circus, only acrobats like Kathryn O'Keeffe, who will embody the physicality of animals, from elephants to birds.

The 37-year-old is part of an eight-member troupe, The Circa Ensemble, which will perform Carnival Of The Animals at Marina Bay Sands this month. The show, presented by Base Entertainment Asia, will be making its South-east Asia debut.

Director Yaron Lifschitz, 52, says: "We've toured internationally, but most of our work is in Australia, so we're really looking forward to bringing it back into the world in a vigorous way."

Lifschitz was inspired by The Carnival Of The Animals, a musical suite by French composer Camille Saint-Saens, who captured the attitude of different animals in his pieces. Similarly, the acrobats embody the physicality of the animals, while including tricks such as tumbling and juggling, choreographed to Saint-Saens' music.

O'Keeffe says she researches extensively, so as to portray a range of animals.

"Watching their mannerisms online, on YouTube videos, and just seeing how animals  move or sounds they make and how they interact with each other, it's just a lot of trial and error," she adds.

The show aims to tell a story as much as it sets out to entertain.

Set and costume designer Libby McDonnell, 39, worked with a team of artists to hand-make many larger-than-life visuals for the set. The visuals were then recorded and stitched together to create textured video projections, which the company says are reminiscent of the style of Eric Carle, the author and illustrator of the popular children's book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

"We're a touring circus company, so we need to be able to move around the world, and also bring really high-quality productions to wherever we go. So video projection allows that," says McDonnell.

The company hopes that the children who watch the performance will have a few takeaways.

"Classical music is an incredibly powerful thing, but you need to give people an entrance point," Lifschitz says.

He adds that the production also has an environmental message, drawing the audiences closer to the animal kingdom and "giving it a physical dimension".

"I hope they have a good experience in the theatre, that they absorb some of the content, and that they like the show."

Book it

Carnival Of The Animals

Where: Sands Theatre, Marina Bay Sands, 4 Bayfront Avenue
MRT: Bayfront
When: April 14 to 17, 3pm, 6.30pm, (Thursday to Saturday), 11am, 3pm (Sunday)
Admission: $68 to $128
Info: Sistic website