PERHAPS you might not have expected to see a white rhino, a happy hippo, bisons and a coltishly beautiful giraffe, but then you might not have expected to see three men dressed as angels complete with gold wings, blonde wigs and pink tutus perform with such daring on the trapeze. Il Florilegio is sustained by surprise as much as by style, grace, humour, invention and its carnival atmosphere.

From the outset this extraordinarily original Italian show recreates the world of 19th-century theatre. The players enter as if taking part in a medieval pageant and effortlessly move through a series of moods from high drama to comedy. The effects are deceptively simple, an ostrich races about the big tent and it takes a few moments before it emerges as a man, bent over with his arm thrust in the air; a pony completes a dressage routine and then, as the lights are dimmed, the bucket containing a blazing fire placed in the centre of the arena creates the image of people taking their ease at the end of a long day. The pony relaxes and rolls in the sawdust. Magic, illusion and the imagination prevail.

The clowns, led by Corrado, are brilliant, all of the hilarious comedy routines revitalise traditional themes. Drama is also provided by an exotic dancing girl who keeps three blazing hula hoops flying at speed around her body. The hardworking animal trainer/horseman appears with a leopard draped around his neck and orders the big cat to leap on to the back of the rhino. A masked trapeze artist performs with beauty and courage. The elephants appear slightly bored when balancing on small platforms but enjoy casually tossing sawdust high in the air.

All the animals in this show are treated with dignity and appear more as special guest performers. Even the music, mainly classical, including Beethoven and Verdi, is cleverly used.

Confident and innovative, this is ensemble circus as wonderfully high entertainment.