Synopsis
This book documents and responds to the work of Back to Back Theatre by providing artistic and critical viewpoints on one of the leading theatre companies of our times.
Back to Back Theatre has transformed contemporary theatre in Australia and internationally with their unique theatricality and imagination. Based in Geelong, in regional Australia, the company is driven by an ensemble of actors perceived to have intellectual disabilities. Their work is inspired by a need to communicate the intrinsic experience of being alive. Back to Back's theatre is multi-layered, visual, expressive and sensory. The brilliance of their multi-award winning work is matched by its human scale and its respect for others. Hence, their awesome, confronting theatricality is also prosaic. As the company says, 'We're people who do shows.'
This book gathers key perspectives on Back to Back Theatre including interviews, documentation and scripts selected by the company and here made available to the reader for the first time. Accompanying this are scholarly essays and artistic reflections on some of the company’s most important and influential shows, including Soft, small metal objects, Food Court and Ganesh Versus the Third Reich. Providing insights from both inside and outside of Back to Back’s creative processes, this book offers a composite set of reflections on creativity, performance, politics, visibility and humanity.
Helena Grehan is Associate Professor in English and Creative Arts at Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia.
Peter Eckersall is Associate Professor in Theatre Studies in the School of Culture and Communication, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Table of Contents:
1. Contents
4. Preface by Jane Goodall
8. Ensemble Statement: We’re People Who Do Shows
10. CHAPTER 1: The Company
11. Ensemble Statement
15. The Existential Antagonists: Back to Back, dramaturgy and spectatorship by Helena Grehan and Peter Eckersall
22. The Ensemble on the Ensemble
24. Bruce Gladwin
27. Alice Nash
28. Cas Anderson, Peter Eckersall, Robin Gador, Bruce Gladwin, Helena Grehan, Noel Hart, Barry Kay and Ian Pidd In Conversation
42. CHAPTER 2: soft
45. Is there a gene responsible for our obsession with perfection? By Lalita McHenry
56. CHAPTER 3: small metal objects
59. small metal objects Script
74. Script after script: Back to Back and dramaturgy of becoming by Eddie Paterson
84. CHAPTER 4: Back to Back & Community
87. Stepping into Images: Three 'arrests' at the Back to Back Theatre Summer School by Barry Laing
94. CHAPTER 5: Food Court
95. Food Court Script
105. Responding to the 'unspoken' in Food Court by Helena Grehan
119. Disabling Spectacle: Curiosity, contempt and collapse in performance theatre by Bryoni Trezise and Caroline Wake
132. CHAPTER 6: Design Dramaturgies
133. Lighting Design: 'Between theatre and architecture'. An Interview with Andrew Livingston and Paul Jackson by Peter Eckersall
142. CHAPTER 7: The Democratic Set
144. An Interview with Bruce Gladwin by Helena Grehan
148. The Democratic Set: 'A cavalcade of portrait, soapbox and drama' by Helena Grehan
158. CHAPTER 8: Ganesh Versus the Third Reich
159. Ganesh Versus the Third Reich Script
197. Irony, Parody and Satire in Ganesh Versus the Third Reich by Helena Grehan
209. 'Scott's Aired a Couple of Things': Back to Back Theatre rehearse Ganesh Versus the Third Reich by Yoni Prior
218. The Impossible Fairytale, or Resistance to the Real by Anna Teresa Scheer
230. CHAPTER 9: Making Room for Elephants
231. An Interview with Bruce Gladwin by Richard Gough
258. From Where I Stand by Scott Price in association with the Ensemble
260. Chronology: Productions
268. Chronology: Residencies and community collaborations
276. Back to Back People
278. Back to Back Public and private supporters over time
279. Awards 280. Author Biographies
Book Description
This book documents and responds to the work of Back to Back Theatre by providing artistic and critical viewpoints on one of the leading theatre companies of our times.
Back to Back Theatre has transformed contemporary theatre in Australia and internationally with their unique theatricality and imagination. Based in Geelong, in regional Australia, the company is driven by an ensemble of actors perceived to have intellectual disabilities. Their work is inspired by a need to communicate the intrinsic experience of being alive. Back to Back's theatre is multi-layered, visual, expressive and sensory. The brilliance of their multi-award winning work is matched by its human scale and its respect for others. Hence, their awesome, confronting theatricality is also prosaic. As the company says, 'We're people who do shows.'
This book gathers key perspectives on Back to Back Theatre including interviews, documentation and scripts selected by the company and here made available to the reader for the first time. Accompanying this are scholarly essays and artistic reflections on some of the company’s most important and influential shows, including Soft, small metal objects, Food Court and Ganesh Versus the Third Reich. Providing insights from both inside and outside of Back to Back’s creative processes, this book offers a composite set of reflections on creativity, performance, politics, visibility and humanity.
Helena Grehan is Associate Professor in English and Creative Arts at Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia.
Peter Eckersall is Associate Professor in Theatre Studies in the School of Culture and Communication, The University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Table of Contents:
1. Contents
4. Preface by Jane Goodall
8. Ensemble Statement: We’re People Who Do Shows
10. CHAPTER 1: The Company
11. Ensemble Statement
15. The Existential Antagonists: Back to Back, dramaturgy and spectatorship by Helena Grehan and Peter Eckersall
22. The Ensemble on the Ensemble
24. Bruce Gladwin
27. Alice Nash
28. Cas Anderson, Peter Eckersall, Robin Gador, Bruce Gladwin, Helena Grehan, Noel Hart, Barry Kay and Ian Pidd In Conversation
42. CHAPTER 2: soft
45. Is there a gene responsible for our obsession with perfection? By Lalita McHenry
56. CHAPTER 3: small metal objects
59. small metal objects Script
74. Script after script: Back to Back and dramaturgy of becoming by Eddie Paterson
84. CHAPTER 4: Back to Back & Community
87. Stepping into Images: Three 'arrests' at the Back to Back Theatre Summer School by Barry Laing
94. CHAPTER 5: Food Court
95. Food Court Script
105. Responding to the 'unspoken' in Food Court by Helena Grehan
119. Disabling Spectacle: Curiosity, contempt and collapse in performance theatre by Bryoni Trezise and Caroline Wake
132. CHAPTER 6: Design Dramaturgies
133. Lighting Design: 'Between theatre and architecture'. An Interview with Andrew Livingston and Paul Jackson by Peter Eckersall
142. CHAPTER 7: The Democratic Set
144. An Interview with Bruce Gladwin by Helena Grehan
148. The Democratic Set: 'A cavalcade of portrait, soapbox and drama' by Helena Grehan
158. CHAPTER 8: Ganesh Versus the Third Reich
159. Ganesh Versus the Third Reich Script
197. Irony, Parody and Satire in Ganesh Versus the Third Reich by Helena Grehan
209. 'Scott's Aired a Couple of Things': Back to Back Theatre rehearse Ganesh Versus the Third Reich by Yoni Prior
218. The Impossible Fairytale, or Resistance to the Real by Anna Teresa Scheer
230. CHAPTER 9: Making Room for Elephants
231. An Interview with Bruce Gladwin by Richard Gough
258. From Where I Stand by Scott Price in association with the Ensemble
260. Chronology: Productions
268. Chronology: Residencies and community collaborations
276. Back to Back People
278. Back to Back Public and private supporters over time
279. Awards 280. Author Biographies
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