The acclaimed Circus 1903 features acrobats, jugglers, a knife thrower and a ringmaster - but additions which are sure to impress audiences are two spectacular puppet elephants, created by the award-winning model makers behind the international theatre production 'War Horse'.
Producers said they have set out to recreate the golden age of circus when shows were decadent, romantic and littered with exotic animals.
"A hundred years ago, if you lived in the middle of a nowhere town and [the circus] had an elephant, it was incredible to see that in real person," creative producer Simon Painter said.
"So with Circus 1903 having the elephant, [it] was the absolute poster child of the show."
The puppeteers behind the theatre production 'War Horse' were commissioned to design and build a mother elephant and her baby.
Mother and baby elephants created by award-winning puppeteers behind War Horse (SBS) Source: Phillippa Carisbrooke
"What we want this to be is an evolution of that culture and style of puppetry," puppet director and co-designer Mervyn Millar said.
"What was really distinctive about War Horse was partly the way we were able to develop the connection between the puppeteers to create an emotional performance."
"[In Circus 1903] we have tried to adapt that principal to a bigger animal."
Three puppeteers, two of whom are on stilts, operate the mother elephant - while a single puppeteer brings the baby to life.
The circus rolls into Canberra next month, with stints in Sydney and Melbourne to follow.
