Eve, affectionately known as NZ circus’s Beyonce, discovered physical storytelling at drama school. It very quickly became her vocation, passion and her life’s drive.
Graduating with a Bachelor of Acting in 2002, Eve has been working as a circus performer, actor, experimental filmmaker, costume-creator, and producer for the last 15 years.
As well as training her acts, running the The Dust Palace Productions and heading The Dust Palace School, she has also co-directed all 20 of The Dust Palace’s full-length circus theatre works since 2009 – convincing many she keeps a troupe of nocturnal elves.
2021 saw Eve pursue further training in Directing at The Actors Program and 2022 has seen significant artistic and organisational developments for both Dust Palace and Eve.
Organisation/Company
Name: The Dust Palace Productions ltd
My Role: The Dust Palace Productions ltd
Established by Eve Gordon and Mike Edward in 2009, The Dust Palace is now the leading circus theatre company in Aotearoa and represented 56% of the Tāmaki Makaurau circus community in the 2019 circus sector census.
The Dust Palace exists to elevate contemporary circus culture, grabbing audiences by the guts, shifting hearts, minds and lifting spirits. We build multi-generational creative capacity in the circus performers of Aotearoa, holding the next generation of talent, encouraging practice and empowering a bold future for the art form.
Our recent collaborations have been; DAWN and MIDNIGHT with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, sections of HEAVENLY BODIES with Auckland Arts Festival; international tours of THE WONDERWOMBS and THE GOBLIN MARKET with The Cultch in Vancouver and large-scale stadium collaborations in Palmerston North, ITHACA and LE CIRQUE VOLÉ, and Invercargill, HUMAN.
2021 saw us develop both outrageous, speed-sewing cabaret HAUS OF YOLO for Splore and the Right Royal Cabaret Festival in Taranaki, and an environmentally focussed show for 4 - 8 year olds, THE ICE CREAM IS MELTING!, commissioned by Auckland Live.
We’re currently developing TE TANGI A TE TŪĪ with Te Rēhia Theatre Company, rehearsing a season of HAUS of YOLO for Q Theatre in November 2022 and sourcing funds for 2023 seasons of THE ODYSSEY.
How I got where I am today
I am first and foremost a performer and creator and have always been intensely interested in pushing the boundaries of form. I was a dancer as a young person and, despite not being naturally brave, I was naturally attracted to the extreme physical possibilities of cirque arts. I fell into producing out of necessity and I look forward to handing it over to someone more skilled in that area than I. The Actors Program Directors Course has been a wonderful new step in my path and really given me the tools I had been missing.
Whānau
I know it's a cliché but my whānau are my circus people around me. Historically this idea of the circus family comes from the fact that no matter what is going on, no matter what the drama, when you're on stage your primary purpose is to keep each other safe and that's exactly how a family operates.
Te Tangi ā te Tūī
Artform: Māori Circus Theatre
Development Status: Ready To Premiere
Media Uploads
Trailer
Synopsis
Te Tangi ā te Tūī, he karanga no te kainga, pulling us heart-first back to the ngāhere.
Te Rēhia Theatre Company and The Dust Palace Circus Theatre Company are collaborating on a significant theatre work for the first time.
The loss of the legendary original voice of the Tūī provided the inspiration of this work; a parallel to the loss of Te Reo Māori. While still in development, Te Tangi ā te Tūī tells a tale of love and hope that spans generations and brings together traditional legends like those of the Patupaiarehe and urban legends like the passive "urban drift" of Māori and inevitable loss of language and culture.
Tūī soaks up the world around it & responds in song. Though beautiful, his tune now is a faint echo of what it once was when Aotearoa was blanketed in the ngāhere, flutes of patupaiarehe filled the trees & Māori alone walked gently upon their mother. This new work brings together Kaupapa Māori theatre & cirque theatre to create an evocative narrative of love & loss between Māori, Patupairehe & the natural world in the face of colonial impact. Our story speaks in parallel to te reo Māori, the voice of the tangata whenua & grave significance of kaitiakitanga of Aotearoa around climate change & the world-wide loss of biodiversity.
Te Tangi ā te Tūī is a Māori circus theatre work about adaptation and authenticity. By concurrently developing narrative, design, movement and circus language, Te Tangi ā te Tūī will transform all pre-existing forms.
The work is set to be developed across 2021- 2022 for a 2023 premier.
Creative Team and Crew
Te Rēhia Theatre, established 2012, is a proudly Māori theatre company, championing Māori playwrights, tikanga Māori arts practice, te reo Māori & the presentation of our diverse stories. The company is led by Amber Curreen & Tainui Tukiwaho & based at Te Pou – The Auckland home of Māori Theatre.
Established by Eve Gordon & Mike Edward in 2009, The Dust Palace is now the leading circus theatre company in Aotearoa & represented 56% of the Tāmaki Makaurau circus community in the 2019 circus sector census.
Te Rēhia takes the creative lead on the project with Amber Curreen as the writer & Tainui Tukiwaho as co-writer & director. The Dust Palace provides creator & assistant director Eve Gordon, cirque theatre expertise & production. Māori movement advisor Charles Koroneho, sonic creator Tom Knowles & set designer Jane Hakaraia make up the remainder of the core creative team.
Amber Curreen (Ngāpuhi) is a kaupapa Māori focused arts manager, playwright (MAHUIKA & Te Rōhi) & performer who leads Te Rēhia Theatre Company & is a founding leader of Te Pou Theatre, Auckland’s Māori home for theatre.
Tainui Tukiwaho (Te Arawa, Tuhoe) is an experienced theatre maker (Black Ties, Astroman, Racists Anonymous, Peter Paka Paratene), reo Māori speaker & has been a company director, producer, director, actor & writer of Māori theatre for a number of organisations including Taki Rua, Te Pou & Te Rēhia.
First trained as an actor, Eve Gordon founded & has driven The Dust Palace circus theatre company to the position it is in today. She has won awards, been saught after & heralded as the ‘Beyonce of New Zealand circus'.
Number of People in the Touring Party
18
Previous Seasons
The first public outing of Te Tangi ā te Tūī is a ten minute excerpt as part of the opening of the Sir Howard Morrison Centre in Rotorua Feb 15th and 16th 2023. Following this a filmed excerpt of the work will be presented in Transform Digital Festival in Canada through The Cultch and Urban Ink. The Cultch then has booked the show for it's International premier in October 2023.
Reviews and Quotes
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The Performing Arts Network of New Zealand (PANNZ) Arts Market is New Zealand's premiere event for artists, producers, presenters and industry leaders from across the performing arts sector.
The Performing Arts Network of New Zealand (PANNZ) Arts Market is New Zealand's premiere event for artists, producers, presenters and industry leaders from across the performing arts sector.
The Performing Arts Network of New Zealand (PANNZ) Arts Market is New Zealand's premiere event for artists, producers, presenters and industry leaders from across the performing arts sector.
The Performing Arts Network of New Zealand (PANNZ) Arts Market is New Zealand's premiere event for artists, producers, presenters and industry leaders from across the performing arts sector.