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Back to Back Theatre

{{Short description|Australian theater company}}

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Back to Back Theatre is an Australian theater company that engages with disabilities on stage. The company is based in Geelong, Victoria. It creates its work nationally and tours around the world. The work produced by the company explores questions about politics, ethics, and philosophy in humanity.{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

The company originated in 1987, and a year later its first performance Big Bag was put on stage.{{Cite web |title=A History of Back to Back Theatre {{!}} Stanford Live |url=https://live.stanford.edu/blog/january-2020/history-back-back-theatre |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=live.stanford.edu}}

The ensemble currently consists of six actors, all of whom are neurodivergent or disabled. As of May 2022, the Back to Back ensemble is: Simon Laherty, Sarah Mainwaring, Scott Price, Mark Deans, and Breanna Deleo.{{Cite web |title=People |url=https://backtobacktheatre.com/about/people/ |access-date=2022-05-29 |website=Back to Back Theatre |language=en-US}}

Back to Back Theatre gained international attention in 2007 after touring with small metal objects and winning a Green Room Award. Another play Ganesh versus the Third Reich revolved around ideas of eugenics and Nazism and received a Helpmann award after its first performance in 2012.{{Cite web |date=2016-09-23 |title=Disability and the 'new normal': why Australia needs to ramp up access to stage and screen |url=http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/24/disability-and-the-new-normal-why-australia-needs-to-ramp-up-access-to-stage-and-screen |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=the Guardian |language=en}} In 2019, the company also engaged in some film work creating Oddlands, a 28-minute pilot for TV that will grow into a six-part series.

In 2013, Back to Back Theatre published a book We're People Who Do Shows ― Back to Back Theatre Performance, Politics, Visibility that expanded on the company's artistic vision, process, and history.

The company's film Shadow was showcased at the Sydney Film Festival in 2022.{{Cite web |title=SHADOW {{!}} Film |url=https://backtobacktheatre.com/project/shadow-film/ |access-date=2022-06-06 |website=Back to Back Theatre |language=en-US}} The film is a contradictory commentary on activism in disabled communities.

Touring works

{{updated|June 5, 2022 |}}

  • Single Channel Video
  • Shadow film
  • The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes
  • Ganesh Versus the Third Reich
  • Small Metal Objects
  • The Democratic Set
  • Food Court
  • Lady Eats Apple

Awards

For Back to Back Theatre

  • Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement (2024){{Cite news |last=Burke |first=Kelly |date=2024-02-14 |title=Venice Biennale: regional Australian theatre company wins prestigious Golden Lion |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/feb/15/venice-biennale-award-winners-golden-lion-geelong-back-to-back-theatre |access-date=2024-02-14 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}
  • International Ibsen Award (2022)
  • Australian Disability Enterprise of Excellence Award (2012)
  • Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards - Group Award (2005)

Ganesh Versus the Third Reich

  • Edinburgh International Festival Herald Angel Critics' Award (2014)
  • Kunstfest Weimar Very Young Jury's All Round Award (2014)
  • Green Room Award Best Ensemble Performance in Alternative & Hybrid Performance (2012)
  • Green Room Award Best Direction in Theatre (2012)
  • Green Room Award Best Production in Theatre (2012)
  • Helpmann Award for Best Play (2012)
  • Melbourne Festival Age Critics' Award (2012)
  • Kit Denton Fellowship for Theatrical Courage (2009)

Small Metal Objects

  • Bessie Award, New York (2008)
  • Green Room Award - Best Theatre Production (New Form), Victoria (2007)
  • ZKB Appreciation Prize, Zurich Theatre Festival (2007)
  • Inaugural Age Critics' Special Commendation, Melbourne Festival (2005)

Soft

  • The Age Critics' Award for Creative Excellence, Melbourne Festival (2002)

References

{{Reflist}}

  • {{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/dec/13/ganesh-versus-the-third-reich|title=Best theatre of 2012, No 7: Ganesh versus the Third Reich|first=Maddy|last=Costa|date=13 December 2012|publisher=|accessdate=6 April 2017|newspaper=The Guardian}}
  • {{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/11/theater/reviews/ganesh-versus-the-third-reich-at-under-the-radar.html|title='Ganesh Versus the Third Reich,' at Under the Radar|first=Ben|last=Brantley|newspaper=The New York Times|date=10 January 2013|publisher=|accessdate=6 April 2017}}
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20160314205655/http://creative.vic.gov.au/Arts_in_Victoria/Features/Feature_Stories/Challenging_perceptions_Geelong%E2%80%99s_Back_to_Back_Theatre
  • {{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/art-and-design/melbourne-arts/melbourne-festival-2016-jonathan-holloways-first-program-to-inflate-back-to-back-theatres-reputation-20160802-gqj8sl.html|title=Melbourne Festival 2016: Jonathan Holloway's first program to inflate Back to Back Theatre's reputation|first=Debbie|last=Cuthbertson|date=3 August 2016|publisher=|accessdate=6 April 2017|via=The Sydney Morning Herald}}
  • {{cite web|url=http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/24/theater-talkback-defying-expectations-off-broadway/|title=Theater Talkback: Defying Expectations Off Broadway|first=Ben|last=Brantley|date=24 January 2013|publisher=|accessdate=6 April 2017}}
  • {{cite web |url=https://www.broadsheet.com.au/melbourne/entertainment/article/melbourne-festival-2016-program-announced |title=Melbourne Festival 2016 Program Announced |first=Tacey |date=2016-08-03 |last=Rychter |publisher= |accessdate=2022-12-04 |website=Broadsheet}}
  • {{cite web|url=https://www.festival.melbourne/2016/events/lady-eats-apple/|title=Lady Eats Apple - Melbourne Festival, 06—23 October 2016.|publisher=|accessdate=6 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024002636/https://www.festival.melbourne/2016/events/lady-eats-apple/#.V6XT-y9darV|archive-date=24 October 2016|url-status=dead}}
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20160819051347/http://www.performingartsmarket.com.au/program/details/lady-eats-apple
  1. {{Cite journal |last=Wooster |first=Roger |date=2009-02-01 |title=Creative inclusion in community theatre: a journey with Odyssey Theatre |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/13569780802655814 |journal=Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=79–90 |doi=10.1080/13569780802655814 |s2cid=144951412 |issn=1356-9783|url-access=subscription }} Roger Wooster (2009) Creative inclusion in community theatre: a journey with Odyssey Theatre, Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, 14:1, 79–90, {{doi|10.1080/13569780802655814}}
  2. {{Cite journal |last=Schmidt |first=T |date=2013 |title=Acting, Disabled: Back to Back Theatre and the Politics of Appearance. |url=https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/37318239/Schmidt_Back_to_Back_Theatre_and_the_politics_of_appearance.pdf |journal=Postdramatic Theatre and the Political: International Perspectives on Contemporary Performance, Ed. |volume=1st edd |pages=189–207|doi=10.5040/9781408183519.ch-009 |hdl=1959.4/unsworks_36780 |isbn=9781408183519 }} Schmidt, T. (2013). Acting, Disabled: Back to Back Theatre and the Politics of Appearance. In K. Jüers-Munby, J. Carroll, & S. Giles (Eds.), Postdramatic Theatre and the Political: International Perspectives on Contemporary Performance (1st ed., pp. 189–207). Bloomsbury Methuen Drama. https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/files/37318239/Schmidt_Back_to_Back_Theatre_and_the_politics_of_appearance.pdf
  3. {{Cite book |first=H |last=Grehan |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/864694297 |title='We're people who do shows': Back to Back Theatre - Performance Politics Visibility |date=2013 |publisher=PR Books |oclc=864694297}} H., Grehan, (2013). 'We're people who do shows': Back to Back Theatre - Performance Politics Visibility. PR Books. OCLC 864694297.
  4. {{Cite book |last=Titchkosky |first=Tanya |date=2003-12-31 |title=Disability, Self, and Society |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/9781442673939 |doi=10.3138/9781442673939|isbn=9781442673939 }} Titchkosky, T. (2003). Chapter 6: Revealing Culture's Eye. In Disability, self, and Society. Essay.
  5. {{Cite journal |last=Calvert |first=Dave |date=2016-04-02 |title='Everything Has a Fucking Value': Negative Dialectics in the Work of Back to Back Theatre |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10486801.2015.1105799 |journal=Contemporary Theatre Review |language=en |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=134–152 |doi=10.1080/10486801.2015.1105799 |s2cid=146180822 |issn=1048-6801}} Dave Calvert (2016) 'Everything Has a Fucking Value': Negative Dialectics in the Work of Back to Back Theatre, Contemporary Theatre Review, 26:2, 134–152, {{doi|10.1080/10486801.2015.1105799}}

External links

  • {{official website|backtobacktheatre.com/}}

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Category:Theatre companies in Australia

Category:Performing arts in Victoria (state)

Category:Disability theatre