Introducing NZ's World Class Cirque Troupe

INTRODUCING NZ’s OWN WORLD CLASS CIRQUE TROUPE, THE DUST PALACE –

Kiwi aerial acrobats land key gig with original adaptation of epic story

NZ’s very own cirque troupe is set to become a household name with the premier of its adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey having secured a key season in Auckland.

The Dust Palace’s ‘Ithaca’ has been selected by NZ’s independent, award winning Q Theatre to headline the Christmas season in its boutique performance space, Loft.

The Dust Palace was founded in 2009 by Eve Gordon (Almighty Johnsons/Shortland Street/Power Rangers/King Kong) and Mike Edward (Nothing Trivial/Shortland Street/TV2’s new drama, Filthy Rich).

In 2011, when Q Theatre opened after 15 years of fundraising, lobbying and development by the performing arts industry, The Dust Palace were the first performers to take to the stage in Loft with their critically-acclaimed show Venus Is....

“After six years of incredibly hard work, The Dust Palace has come of age and with aerial acrobatics becoming increasingly popular, Q Theatre has invested in a significant end-of-year cirque season that includes a full sensory experience celebrating everything the venue and performers have to offer,” says Sarah Graham, Producer at Q Theatre.

“Ithaca is international quality and the performances are world class. The show uses the whole theatre space and the audience is scattered amongst the set on tables of six with wine and food. The performance is physical and aerial, the story is told around and above you. It’s intimate, present… and palpable,” says Graham.

THE STORY – ODYSSEY WITH A TWIST

“The story is unmistakably Odyssey, it’s the quintessential love story but we’ve had some fun with it”, says Mike Edward who plays leading man, Odysseus.

“It details Odysseus’ journey back from the Trojan War to Ithaca to be with his true love, Penelope but instead of it being in ancient Greece, we decided to set it in the future and in space instead”.

“I take many lovers on the journey and one of my female flings is played by a man. We decided to cast Ed in the role to challenge some stereotypes about love… which will be interesting”.

The emphasis on story told through cirque-style performance is The Dust Palace’s point of difference, according to Eve Gordon.

“We are often referred to as NZ’s Cirque du Soleil – which is incredibly flattering – but because we are a theatre company our primary focus is on story telling using skill. Story is everything. It’s why people watch the news or soap operas, read a book or go on Facebook”, explains Gordon.

“When extraordinary performers communicate with an audience by pushing the limits of their physical and cognitive abilities it creates this sensory, engaging, magical experience… that’s pretty much why we get up in the morning!”

EPIC EFFORT – FROM POETRY TO PERFORMANCE

The Dust Palace commissioned multi-award winning Kiwi playwright, Thomas Sainsbury to adapt Odyssey for physical performance.

Sainsbury recently told the NZ Herald that it was challenging, “It was such a different way of working that my brain couldn't marry cirque with story-telling”. “At first I thought cirque was kind of like gymnastics but I've quickly learned how much more intricate it is and what a beautiful art-form it can be to tell stories in a different way."

SOUNDTRACK – CLASSIC CASH SET TO SYNTH

The Dust Palace invited two of the country’s most respected musicians, Matthias Jordan and Jol Mullholand to create the soundtrack for Ithaca. The pair decided to adapt three Johnny Cash classics – Rusty Cage, I See A Darkness and A Thing Called Love plus The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face which Cash made famous - and will play them live during the show.

“For the music to work with dramatic aerial acrobatics we had to change the pace of the music so we decided to replace the laid-back country sound with mid-1980s synth… you might think that’s weird but it works”, says Matthias Jordan.

Jordon plans to put all four tracks up on his Spotify page later this month where they will be free to download at, https://open.spotify.com/artist/4DSGS3Lh3mwnkn7po51eN4

POST PREMIER – ITHACA GOES INTERNATIONAL

Q Theatre’s support of The Dust Palace will enable it to take Ithaca to an international audience in 2016.

As a charitable organisation, all of Q Theatre’s profits, including income through the café, bar and tickets go back into supporting what happens on its stages.

According to Sarah Graham, The Dust Palace is evidence of the value of supporting homegrown performers to become great ambassadors for the NZ performance industry.

ITHACA SEASON – TIMES & TICKETS

Show Season: Nov 26th to Dec 11th

Show Details: http://qtheatre.co.nz/ithaca

Show Tickets: https://www.patronbase.com/_QTheatre/Productions/6086/Performances

Show Video (30 seconds): https://vimeo.com/141617236

Box Office: boxoffice@qtheatre.co.nz or 09 309 9771

*R18 (recommended for viewers 18 years of age +) show contains partial nudity

ENDS

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