It’s a day off for the circus, so Giovanni Zoppé and his partner, Jeanette Prince, perform a juggling act more relatable to the rest of us. There is laundry to be done, kids to be tended to and tea to be made, all from the confines of a home that feels a few sizes too small. They are here, inside a trailer planted on a Redwood City parking lot, for a month of performances at a stop they deem their favorite of their whole tour.

Such profuse praise for the local crowd risks inspiring a more cynical bit of theater—acrobatic eye-rolling. But as Giovanni and Jeanette talk, it’s clear how much they mean it. This Zoppé Italian Family Circus began in Venice nearly 180 years ago and has somehow connected almost cosmically with the audiences who fill the tents placed incongruously next door to the Redwood City Library.