Circus group ROOKE asks, 'We need you to tell us if this is funny'

The spectators, walking into Assembly197, were going to be involved in the show in two ways: part of the performance meant they would be beckoned onstage; but they were also being watched for their reactions - and that involvement was the more important.

Before inviting in the onlookers, Conor Wild - the performance's director - asked one thing of his audience: "we need you to tell us if this is funny."

"We've been so involved in this show, practising over and over again, that sometimes we forget if it's good," Wild said.

"That's where you guys come in."

The preview show, which ran for a small Friday crowd, was an integral part of the rehearsals process for Nimble, the newest show from Contemporary circus group ROOKE, a coterie of world-class performers which formed in Northern Tasmania in 2021 and regularly tours across the state.

The show is part of the troupe's Circus Across Tasmania program - or CAT - a touring program the group started last year to, quite literally, fulfil its namesake: bring the artform to places in the state that wouldn't normally have it.

Built on the back of one of ROOKE's early shows, Tony's Imaginary Circus, CAT was born from a desire to present world class work, but also to engage with communities, which Wild said was "just as important".

"It was about more investment, building connections in place; you can't just drop in and drop out," Wild said.

That's where Nimble comes in - the show is the first production ROOKE has created exclusively for CAT. It's also going to be followed by workshops and community sit-downs; an "infrastructure to support circus".

"Everything about this show is designed to be packed up in a car, take it on the road and play town halls - it was designed to be nimble," Wild said.

And Nimble, which opens this Friday in the south of the state before heading back north in October for a showing at the Earl Arts Centre, also has another message aside from entertainment.

"What we want to do is make live performance really accessible, to see that there are all these people who are doing this as their career," Wild said.

"Arts making is incredibly important, and sometimes we don't see that in regional centres. That's why we're doing this."

Children's workshops and family shows are now on sale for April in Cygnet, Triabunna and Moonah. Nimble, and Rooke, will return to the North at the Earl Arts Centre in October.