Get ready for tricks, flips and some baa-my behaviour as a circus show featuring the much-loved, animated character Shaun the Sheep is coming to Manchester. Part of Factory International’s winter programme, the circus show will run alongside immersive Lightroom exhibitions such as VOGUE: Inventing the Runway and the return of David Hockey’s Bigger & Closer (not smaller & further away) at Aviva Studios in Manchester.
A performance company described as being “at the forefront of the new wave of contemporary Australian circus” Circa Contemporary Circus and globally-renowned animation studio Aardman, known for animations Wallace and Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Morph and Chicken Run, have collaborated for the UK premiere of Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show. Running at Aviva Studios from December 11, 2025 to January 4, 2026, the show will feature Aardman’s classic, slapstick, comedy character Shaun the Sheep combined with live circus performance, simultaneously blurring the lines between movement, dance, theatre and circus for a visual spectacle packed with wit.
Led by Director Yaron Lifschitz, the Circa Ensemble aim to capture all the sophisticated and challenging elements of circus arts while embracing the fun, humour and playfulness found in the world of Shaun the Sheep. Audiences can expect a blend of animation, stage, film and live acrobatics as Scenic Designer Dan Potra and Costume Designer Libby McDonnell have created a new world for Shaun and his Flock to inhabit.
Yaron Lifschitz, Director of Circa said: “Shaun the Sheep is a playful, rambunctious feast of humour, good spirits and the triumph of the little guy. The medium of circus is a perfect vehicle for bringing these qualities to the stage. Melding the worlds of stage and screen and incorporating the extreme physicality of circus without losing the emotional depth and charm of the original is a major creative challenge – it’s the sort of thing we at Circa thrive on.”
Prior to the winter programme, Factory International will present 2025’s Manchester International Festival (MIF) at Aviva Studios, in venues across the city and locations around Greater Manchester from July 3 to July 20.
How to get tickets to Shaun the Sheep’s Circus Show
Tickets for members go on sale on Wednesday 18th June and tickets go on general sale on Friday 20th June here. Tickets are available from just £10 across all shows including the Shaun the Sheep circus shows.
