Venus Is... a tale of love and eroticism

Venus Is…
Physical Interpretations of Erotic Literature
Created and Directed by Eve Gordon
The Dust Palace in association with STAMP
Q

Nest month(September 1st) the new Auckland theatre Q will open its main stage with Smackbang Theatre’s production Raising the Titanics directed by Raymond Hawthorne.

The play journeys from the present back to the golden age of the Maori show band era to reveal what really sunk the Titanics, who were perhaps the greatest Maori show band never to have existed. Somewhere beneath the oceans of music, mirth and memory lies the truth.

A week later the studio space will be launched with an intimate and personal tale of love and eroticism that follows the story of an older couple rediscovering each other.

Created by nationally renowned aerial theatre company The Dust Palace, Venus Is…combines physical and aerial theatre with dance and song to recreate the intimacy and sensuality embodied in the erotic literature of authors such as James Joyce, EE Cummings, Anias Nin, and Shakespeare.

Led by Eve Gordon, North & South magazine’s pick as “Queen of Burlesque Theatre”, the cast of eight includes ex-Cirque du Soleil performers, contemporary dancers, aerialists, singers, and actors.

The company will command every inch (both in the air and on the ground) of the sumptuously dressed Q studio as they bring to life some of the most admired erotic texts from the turn of the century with more than a touch of titillation.

Love, courage, erotic impulse, and jealousy collide as the performers represent both the embodiment of the texts and the memories and desires of the older couple. Finding they have differing versions of the same events, the couple discovers alternative perspectives on each others erotic nature and begin to live and love each other once again.

Abundant with physicality and with an undercurrent of tongue in cheek humour, Venus Is... will take audiences on a journey of discovery and pleasure, challenging perceptions of sexual relationships and encompassing moments of tragedy and pure joy.

Performance, art, beauty, and the words of the masters of erotic literature coalesce in a new theatre experience that merges the daring opulence of burlesque with the frivolity of circus performance that promises to push the boundaries and open the new ‘Q’ studio with a bang this September.

Eve Gordon says of the work “I've been building this aerial theatre company The Dust Palace for the last couple of years and the question comes up again and again - how do I make a performance arts business sustainable? We're lucky that our special circus skills are easily saleable in the corporate events industry.

“Its been an amazing two years since the formation of The Dust Palace as a ltd company. we've grown from an underground company making experimental burlesque to a sort-after circus theatre company producing corporate aerial shows.”

“Venus is... is my ideal step forward for The Dust Palace... not only is it great for the profile of our company to be chosen as the opening show in the Q Theatre Loft but it's also a wonderful development in terms of the style and skill level of our work.
With the amazing cast of dancers and circus performers we have we can really physically push both ourselves and what audiences might expect to see in a theatre.
It really is my dream come true being in a position to create and tell a beautiful love story with superhuman physical skill.”

Q programme for September

Raising the Titanics
Smackbang Theatre
1-17 September

Venus Is...
The Dust Palace
7-17 September

I, George Nepia
Tawata Productions
20-24 September

Strange Resting Places
Taki Rua Productions
21-24 September
Te Houhi
Atamira Dance Company in association with STAMP at THE EDGE 21 – 25 September