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The Dust Palace

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The Dust Palace Circus Theatre Company
Formation2009 (2009)
TypeTheatre group
Location
Artistic director
Eve Gordon
Websitethedustpalace.co.nz

The Dust Palace is a circus theatre company based in Auckland, New Zealand. It was co-founded by actors Eve Gordon and Mike Edward in 2009.[1]

The Dust Palace performs original devised works incorporating traditional theatre, physical theatre, dance and circus arts.[2]

History

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In 2009 Eve Gordon created burlesque show Burlesque As You Like It: Not A Family Show for the Auckland Fringe Festival which questioned the place of burlesque in contemporary society and engaged with its political and theatrical beginnings. The company was formed with members of the cast and crew following the success of this show.[3]

Ellerslie Arts Centre, home of the Dust Palace, 2025 - present

The company was invited to open Q Theatre’s Loft space in 2011. For this they devised Venus Is...[4] which follows the conversation, and corresponding reverie, of an older couple reflecting on their relationship.

Love and Money (2011)[5] was first developed for the Hastings Opera House, re-developed for TAPAC Theatre Auckland 2012, and again in 2013 for Downstage theatre, Wellington. The show is set in a strip club, and blends Mike Edward's semi-autobiographical narrative with physical comedy.

In 2012, the Dust Palace leased a warehouse in Auckland suburb Maungakiekie-Tamaki, Penrose which became their studio [6] and also housed The Dust Palace School, which teaches circus skills to adults and children. A scholarship programme was started in 2014 to provide a year's worth of free classes for twelve young people.[7]

Eve Gordon at The Wharf 2017

Between 2012 and 2015, the company toured several shows: ...with a stranger... to Oamaru, Ashburton and Nelson; Love and Money and Venus is... were performed at Erupt, the Lake Taupo Festival; and Cirque non Sequitur was staged at the Fuel Festival, Hamilton, Q Theatre, Auckland[8] and at the Right Royal Cabaret Festival in Taranaki.

Top of the Heap (2012) began as a performance installation made for Splore, set on a pile of furniture.[9] Ithaca (2015) was a cirque-musical re-telling of Homer’s epic narrative poem The Odyssey, set as a space opera.[10]

In 2016, Eve Gordon began adapting Christina Rossetti's narrative poem Goblin Market, into circus theatre. The Goblin Market was picked up at OFF-CINARS for a season at The Cultch in Vancouver and The Centaur in Montreal.[11]

In 2017, The Dust Palace and The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra created large-scale collaborative work Midnight staged at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre.[12] Midnight was the beginning of a trilogy of works, set in the same world, and was followed by Dawn in 2019.[13]

In 2018 another large-scale production, Le Cirque Volé was staged at the Palmerston North Stadium.[14]

In 2019, The Dust Palace moved to a new, larger premises [15] with better facilities for creating circus theatre.[16] Angel for Breakfast debuted at Splore Festival; The Goblin Market[17] went on tour; Human was performed at the ILT Stadium Southland; The WonderWombs[18] toured Nelson, Blenheim, Carterton and Auckland.

In 2020, The Dust Palace toured The WonderWombs to Vancouver and developed PULP for Hamilton Gardens Festival.[19] Ithaca was re-developed for the Palmerston North stadium.[20]

In 2021, The Dust Palace devised cabaret show Haus of Yolo[21] in which the performers sew their own costumes on stage. Also developed was The Ice Cream is Melting!, an environmentally focussed show for 4 - 8 year olds.[22]

In 2022, The Dust Palace began work on a collaboration with Te Rēhia Theatre Company, Te Tangi a te Tūī, co-written by Amber Cureen.[23] An excerpt of Te Tangi a te Tūī was performed for the opening of the Sir Howard Morrison Centre in Rotorua[24]; the full show premiered in 2023 at The Cultch in Vancouver; and it had a season at the Auckland Arts Festival in 2024.[25]

In 2023, The Dust Palace helped form Te Kura Maninirau, a kaupapa Māori circus school, in collaboration with Te Pou Theatre.[26]

In 2025, The Dust Palace moved premises to the Ellerslie Arts Centre.[27]

On June 8, 2025, The Dust Palace's storage unit burned down and most of their equipment and archives were lost.[28][29]

Productions

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  • Burlesque As You Like It: Not A Family Show (2009)
  • The Moon's Insane and other stories... (2009)
  • The Sexy Recession Cabaret (2009) (co-production)
  • Love and Money (2010)
  • Venus is... (2011)
  • Cirque Non Sequitur (2012)
  • ...with a stranger... (2013)
  • Same Same But Different (2013)
  • Knock, Knock (2013)
  • Top of the Heap (2015)
  • Ithaca (2015)
  • The Goblin Market (2016)
  • Midnight (2017)
  • Human (2018)
  • The WonderWombs (2018)
  • Dawn (2019)
  • PULP (2020)
  • Ithaca (2020)
  • HAUS of YOLO (2021)
  • The Ice Cream is Melting! (2021)
  • Te Tangi a te Tūī (2023)

References

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  1. ↑ Dekker, Diana (8 March 2013). "A Divine Body of Work". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  2. ↑ Simei-Barton, Paul (21 February 2013). "Theatre review: Amazing acts of derring do". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  3. ↑ The Big Idea (19 September 2012). "TBI Q&A: Eve Gordon". The Big Idea. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  4. ↑ JONES, BRIDGET (9 September 2011). "REVIEW: Venus Is at Q Theatre". Stuff. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  5. ↑ Delilkan, Sharu. "REVIEW: Love and Money (The Dust Palace)". Theatre Scenes: Aotearoa New Zealand Theatre. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  6. ↑ Bertrand, Kelly (9 November 2012). "Mike Edward and Eve Gordon: 'Our unconventional romance'". The New Zealand Woman's Weekly. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  7. ↑ Rogers, Ben (2 July 2014). "Swing in to circus fun". East & Bays Courier. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Cirque Non Sequitur". Theatreview. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  9. ↑ "Top of the Heap". Auckland Pride Festival. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  10. ↑ Wenley, James. "REVIEW: Ithaca (The Dust Palace)". Theatre Scenes: Aotearoa New Zealand Theatre. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  11. ↑ "The Goblin Market dazzles with its dark circus world". The Georgia Straight. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  12. ↑ "APO teams up with Dust Palace circus for magical show". RNZ. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  13. ↑ Live, Auckland. "Past Event | Dawn". Auckland Live. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  14. ↑ Tuckey, Karoline (27 July 2018). "Bespoke cabaret circus show a Palmerston North celebration". Stuff. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  15. ↑ Press Release, The Dust Palace (22 January 2019). "The Dust Palace Opens New Studio After Successful Campaign". Scoop Media. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
  16. ↑ Christian, Dionne (8 July 2018). "Cirque company The Dust Palace moves to fly higher". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  17. ↑ Knight, Brigitte. "REVIEW: The Goblin Market (The Dust Palace)". Theatre Scenes: Aotearoa New Zealand Theatre. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  18. ↑ Karamjeet, Jess. "REVIEW: The WonderWombs (The Dust Palace)". Theatre Scenes: Aotearoa New Zealand Theatre. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  19. ↑ Brennan-Tupara, Nicola (1 March 2020). "The Dust Palace's, Pulp". Stuff. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
  20. ↑ "Palmy Venues | Ithaca". Palmy Venues. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  21. ↑ Hanne, Ilona (1 August 2021). "Haus of YOLO is magically mesmerising and thrillingly dangerous". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  22. ↑ "The Ice Cream is Melting!". EcoFest. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  23. ↑ "Māori actors and circus performers take their show on the road". NZ Herald. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  24. ↑ "Sir Howard Morrison Centre". Sir Howard Morrison Centre. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  25. ↑ "Te Tangi a te Tūī - Auckland Arts Festival". 2024.aaf.co.nz. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  26. ↑ "Te Kura Maninirau to lead Maori Performing Arts Open Day". RNZ. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  27. ↑ "The Dust Palace finds home in dedicated hub". RNZ. 11 May 2025. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  28. ↑ "'Loss is immense': Auckland circus company devastated by fire". NZ Herald. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
  29. ↑ Hebenton, Rebekah (11 July 2025). "How Eve Gordon rebuilt their circus dreams after it all fell apart". Now to Love - New Zealand. Retrieved 4 September 2026.
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