“The challenge for us was not only did we have to fabricate these animals, we also had to create some kind of document that we could share with fabricators around the world telling them how to build it,” he says. “People that live in different countries with different languages and different skillsets and different workshop facilities.”
The change in the material brief meant the team could create patterns for plywood animal skeletons, which could then be traced and scanned and distributed to makers with an accompanying visual document. “A little bit like IKEA,” says Leo. “Put slot A into slot B, you know?”
The patterns for the skeletons make for visual consistency, but also allow hundreds of volunteer puppeteers to quickly pick up the skills they need. At each stop, Leo will teach the performers “the basics of puppetry”. In Paris there were 62 volunteers to teach in one go. As the herd swelled further in London, 115 people worked at pace for three days in the National Centre for Circus Arts in Shoreditch.
For those making puppets, the creativity comes in making the skins and hides, all from cardboard. The animals are similar, but varied and each takes on the ideas of its maker. “I love that every one is bespoke,” says Leo. “And that’s true to life. Real zebras aren’t uniform. There’s variety in everything from stripe width to toe colour.”