Co-creator of the larger-than-life cabaret show, Cirque Bon Bon, Ash Jacks, is yet another example of the talent we’ve seen lately coming out of Brisbane, but she’s trodden the world stage, too.

When I catch up with Jacks, she’s home in Brisbane, just back from a Melbourne season, then off to the Darwin Festival for two weeks and after that straight to Canberra.

An elite circus performer from immediately after she finished school, before the pandemic she’d been touring for 13 to 14 years before scoring her dream job as assistant creative director for Cirque Du Soleil.

Seven months into a tour, covid hit and she repatriated.

“I came home to Brisbane thinking it would be a quick pandemic stretch, but then I met my husband, a Brisbane financier, and we have two children, one 2½ years old and another 10 months old.”

But Jacks and her creative business partner Jules – the choreographer Julieann Nugent – were not about to let the pandemic dampen their spirits so they formed Cirque Bon Bon in the midst of the lockdown when it was impossible to bring entertainers across the border, and premiered at the Noosa alive! Festival.

“Creating circus is what I do,” Jacks says. “But Jules is a great choreographer who has had a dance school for 30 to 40 years and has choreographed for big cruise ships and TV, and so she has access to a large pool of dancers…she looks after the dance side of things while I look after the circus side – we combine our powers.”

“Also, our lighting designer is Travis McFarlane who takes the audience on a journey of beauty and drama through a light show. He’s recently done the lighting for Woman In Black.

So, what does the name Cirque Bon Bon mean?

“We translate it as ‘Circus Candy’ or, ‘like a bonbon, full of surprises’,” she says, adding that to enhance the surprise element, they have engaged a famous comedy emcee, Mario, Queen of the Circus, who uses tongue-in-cheek humour that is very Australian but also a little bit Frenchie. “Maybe that comes from my Cirque Du Soleil time, but I’m still very Aussie.”

“Our inspiration was away pandemic… everything was so heavy, there was all this darkness, so we wanted to create Bon Bon as a beautiful, fun show.

“The sole purpose of Cirque Bon Bon is to entertain. There’s no deep meaning, there’s no story, it’s just beautiful people doing beautiful things.

“Originally we started with a little group in Queensland. We had this pool of incredibly talented people who were unemployed – a kick ass team – but since then since the world got back on its feet we’ve been able to bring artists like Cyr wheel expert Alexandre Lane in from overseas.

“Beauty, grace and bravery characterise the show.”

The music is a mixture of modern pop with some classical arrangements worked up by Nugent, but the headline sound for host Mario is the music of Queen, which she says has everyone up on their feet singing and belly-laughing.

There’s a roller-skating act with a difference, there’s hula hooping, juggling, acrobatics, you name it.

But above all, there’s the  contortionist, Shannen Micheala, who operates a bow and arrow with her feet.

“The high point in the show  for me is when Shannen is preparing to shoot the arrow – you can hear a pin drop. Then she pulls the bow back – that for me is the moment of the biggest goosebumps. Then thunderous applause roars.”

Cirque Bon Bon, Canberra Theatre, August 22-24.