TV wildlife presenter' Steve Backshall's ocean explorations spur show in which he brings marine creatures to life

Steve will use stunts, experiments, props, cutting edge science and big screen footage from his two decades in television in his presentation at Sheffield City Hall on October 22, 2023.

He said: “I’m bringing the ocean’s aquatic environments and marine creatures to life on stage by using a giant screen featuring lots of amazing footage from my encounters with sharks, whales and dolphins over the years. There will be on- stage science experiments, by using props, stunts and tricks plus some outtakes and bloopers too,” he told James Rampton. “Also, some life-size scale ocean giants that we’ll be bringing out on stage, which I think really helps because it’s very, very difficult to get a sense of how big these animals really are. Being able to replicate that on stage is a big part of the show.

“It’s about finding things which are familiar to people and they understand and perhaps they may see in their everyday life that connect to how a jellyfish stings or how the tail of a thresher shark may take down its prey.

"The ocean and the animals that live there are my absolute passion. The show is very much based around the most iconic animals in our oceans and how they function and what makes them special. But I will also be talking a bit about the challenges that they face and that the broader environments in the oceans face as well. All of those things together made it seem that this was the perfect topic for a stage show.”

The ocean is Steve’s favourite place on the planet. He said: "So many of my very best wildlife experiences have been in the ocean. Whether it’s been freediving alongside a female sea lion who is dancing wingtip to fingertip with me underwater, coming in and practically nuzzling my mask as we swim alongside each other and pirouetting underwater like some kind of marine ballerina, through to seeing a tiny flamboyant cuttlefish no bigger than the end of my thumb hunting mysid shrimp on the bottom of the sea. And then, having a humpback whale swim alongside you underwater, a big female being chased by 15 males all rocketing along, beating the living daylights out of each other to try and get their girl, or seeing flying fish skimming in front of your boat, or dolphins riding at the bow of your boat as you travel through every sea from Antarctica, to the tropics to the Arctic. The ocean is a place that is full of surprises, full of wonder, always invigorating. And I just want to bring that to life on stage.”

Tickets cost £31.95 for his presentation Ocean. Go to www.sheffieldcityhall.co.uk