Lila: Studio Bound's Park-and-Show Design for Enchanting Valley

How masterplanning the park and designing the resident show as one project shaped Lila, the outdoor production at Taman Safari Indonesia's Enchanting Valley in Bogor.

Lila is the resident show at Enchanting Valley, Taman Safari Indonesia's park in the Puncak highlands near Bogor, which opened in December 2024. What distinguishes Studio Bound's involvement is its breadth: rather than designing a show for a finished venue, the studio masterplanned the park and designed the production within it, so the two were conceived as a single, continuous experience.

The show is a forest-themed tale of nature, friendship and bravery — a girl named Lila joins her family and the forest spirits to protect a magical forest from poachers. It was created with Melbourne-based creative director Peter Wilson and composer Elwin Hendrijanto; Patrick Larsen served as set and costume designer.

Designing the show and the site together

When the park plan and the production are drawn by the same studio, decisions become available that neither discipline could make in isolation — where the audience arrives, what they encounter first, how the natural landscape is enlisted into the staging rather than treated as a backdrop. The result is continuity: the park sets up the show and the show pays off the park.

Forest-spirit performers on the Lila stage — a peacock spirit, an antlered creature and a porcupine-quilled figure beneath a suspended rattan cage, framed by sculpted banyan trees. — The forest stage set integrated into the natural surroundings of Enchanting Valley. Lila — Studio Bound. Image: Taman Safari Indonesia.

A forest stage, and a cast of creatures

The centrepiece is a large forest stage set built into the natural surroundings, designed to meet the real trees and terrain without an obvious seam. The costumes — a cast of forest spirits and mythical creatures — were designed for an open-air production: legible at a distance, workable in daylight and weather, and durable enough for a physical show incorporating stunts and special effects.

Lila performer in an orchid-and-butterfly costume with sculpted amber wings, magenta petal skirt and a floral golden headpiece against a green backdrop. — Forest-spirit and mythical-creature costumes designed for open-air performance. Lila — set & costume by Patrick Larsen, Studio Bound. Image: Taman Safari Indonesia.

Lila on stage in a red palm-print dress with woven trim and fringe, carrying a binturong on her shoulders against the forest set. — Costumes built to read at distance and hold up in daylight, weather and physical staging. Lila, Enchanting Valley — Studio Bound. Image: Taman Safari Indonesia.

Lila is part of Studio Bound's ongoing partnership with Taman Safari Indonesia, the country's largest park operator — work that also includes the underwater dinner theatre Varuna and the entrance experience at Marine Safari Bali.

About Patrick Larsen

Patrick Larsen — Emmy Award–winning production designer and founder of Studio Bound, Singapore.

Patrick Larsen is an Emmy Award–winning production designer and the founder of Studio Bound, a Singapore studio working across immersive experiences, themed attractions, live shows, ceremonies and broadcast design. In partnership with Taman Safari Indonesia, Studio Bound masterplanned the Enchanting Valley park near Bogor, where Patrick designed the sets and costumes for the resident show Lila. Over more than two decades he has designed for the Expo 2020 Dubai ceremonies, Olympic broadcasts, Las Vegas residencies, and resident shows across Asia and the Middle East.