Daisy Baker

As locations across Tasmania are being transformed into immersive art spaces for Mona Foma, an independent gym in Launceston is preparing to host world-class circus professionals for two adults-only evenings this week.

Tasmanian circus company ROOKE will present DEKOOR in Method Plus Action gym, playfully exploring gym culture, training and voyeurism.

The immersive show will combine what you might expect in a gym – sweating, tight clothing and loud music – with the slightly less anticipated nudity, grunting, bright lights, a Cyr Wheel and offensive language from performers.

The core cast will be six professional circus artists together with four contemporary dancers, delivering equal doses of theatre, dance and jaw-dropping circus acts.

Around 15 regular gym-goers will also be on-site doing their workout as volunteer ‘performers’.

A stylised “voice of God” narrator will provide instructions to patrons as they explore the space. Initially an audience of 150 will be split into three groups and led to separate areas of the gym for simultaneous performances of around 15 minutes, before rotating and repeating twice more. This will be followed by more spontaneous performances as people roam the boutique studio’s three levels.

ROOKE CEO and director Freyja Wild said DEKOOR has been inspired by her transition from being a full-time acrobat to being an administrator and manager, now juggling budgets and accounts.

She joined Method Plus Action to continue to move her body and was inspired by the welcoming community inside.

“It was the first time I’d ever been to a gym where I felt accepted and felt my weird approach was okay and the fact that I did handstands in the corner and knew nothing about lifting weights but was actually very capable in other ways, there was a weird [sense that] I fit in but don’t fit in in that world,” she said.

From the powerlifters to pregnant women, to middle aged women to kids, everyone was welcomed.

“I was inspired by that and I wanted to work with them and celebrate the space they’ve created and what it does for the community in our way.”

Drawing on circus’ traditionally non-verbal form, DEKOOR is also an exploration of consent.

“It’s really interesting to me to explore how you can gain consent or permission from someone without them saying anything,” Freyja said. “We’re talking with the artists about using eye contact and body language and making sure they’re looking at people to check if they’re okay with anything that’s about to happen.”

Patrons will be offered a sweatband upon entry that doubles as a ‘consent token’.

In the second part of the evening as people explore the ‘nightclub’, the orange bands indicate to performers that the wearer is open to adventures, like being led to another part of the space, including the sauna or ice bath for an intimate performance.

With discussions of consent and intimate spaces however, Freyja stresses the performance is not sexual.

“I’m not interested in challenging people to that degree. I’m not interested in making people feel uncomfortable. What I am interested in is making sure that if someone feels uncomfortable about being in a small space they don’t have to do that.

“Our first concern is that people are comfortable and having a good time. I think any kind of sexually explicit material is automatically going against that.”

People can opt out at any point they no longer wish to participate.

Voyeurism is something Freyja has pondered at length, having spent much of her life on stage. She’s used to being under a watchful eye while in her most vulnerable and creative state, both training and performing.

“Circus training can be very physically hard; you might fail, fall over, all of these things that you maybe don’t want people to witness but it’s all witnessed whether you’re performing or not,” she said.

“In a way I think there’s a strong correlation with gyms – a similarly public space where people are training and failing and working on themselves in a certain way and I think it’s really interesting to kind of look at how the private process might change if it’s being observed, because it does.

“If you’re doing something completely on your own and you know no one is watching you, you do it very differently to if someone is watching you.

“Within gym culture, you often see people looking at themselves in the mirror too, practising their posing, which I find quite funny and interesting.”

Songs of resistance that make you want to dance will soundtrack the night, think Rage Against the Machine, Midnight Oil, with a healthy dose of the likes of Grimes. Freyja said the hand-picked playlist combines an acknowledgement of the reality of the world, while also leaning into the connection and fun of the event. There will be DJ sets from Tasmanian outfits Raise the Ruth and Wild Claims.

Local company Winkin Drinks will put their creativity to the test with three bars for the event, providing themed drinks in the show colours and no-drip icy poles.

The first performance on Friday March 1 sold out in under 24 hours and there are limited tickets for the Saturday night show, however fear not, you can still experience the excitement of the night with a nightclub ticket that can be purchased at the door on the evening, providing fun until 1am.

Tickets and more information are available at monafoma.net.au