A theatre show in the public domain; part voyeuristic meditation, part urban thriller.
For their first Australian performance since winning the International Ibsen Award, we are thrilled to welcome Back to Back Theatre to Our Season 2023 with their award-winning production of small metal objects.
Selected for the VCE Drama Playlist, this theatrical gem unfolds amidst the unpredictable pedestrian traffic of Market Square Shopping Centre, making for the perfect excursion out of the classroom and into the community to experience modern theatre in a unique space. On a raised seating bank with individual sets of headphones, the audience is wired into an intensely personal drama being played out somewhere in the crowd.
Gary and Steve are the kind of men who normally escape notice. But here they play an inadvertent but pivotal role in the night of two ambitious executives they've arranged to meet for a transaction. As the intimacy of their situation develops, small metal objects emerges as a sly and luminous depiction of everyday issues most take for granted.
Back to Back Theatre is driven by an ensemble of actors with intellectual disabilities. Here, the company explores how respect is withheld from outsiders – the disabled or unemployed – who society deems ‘unproductive’.
Set against the ever-evolving backdrop of the city, the notion that everything has its price couldn’t be called into starker relief.
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Awards
2022 International Ibsen Award Winner - Back to Back Theatre
2008 Bessie Award, New York
2007 Green Room Award - Best Theatre Production (New Form), Victoria
2007 ZKB Appreciation Prize, Zurich Theatre Festival
2005 Inaugural Age Critics' Special Commendation, Melbourne Festival
Credits
- Devisors Bruce Gladwin, Simon Laherty, Sonia Teuben, Genevieve Morris, Jim Russell
- Director Bruce Gladwin
- Performers Simon Laherty
- Sound Design & Composition Hugh Covill
- Costume Design Shio Otani
- Stage Manager Nikki Watson
- Assistant Stage Manager Alana Hoggart
- Sound Operator Marco Cher-Gibard
- Company Manager Erin Watson
- Production Manager Bao Ngouansavanh
- Head of Production and Delivery David Miller
- Head of Artistic Planning Tanya Bennett
- Executive Producer Tim Stitz
Back to Back Theatre
Winner of the 2022 International Ibsen Award, Back to Back Theatre creates new forms of contemporary performance imagined from the minds and experiences of a unique ensemble of actors with a disability, giving voice to social and political issues that speak to all people.
Based in the regional centre of Geelong, the company is one of Australia’s most globally recognised and respected contemporary theatre companies.
In addition to its professional practice Back to Back collaborates intensively with communities around the world, with a focus on artistic excellence and elevated social inclusion for people with disabilities.
Photo credits:
Hero image: Jeff Busby
Carousel image #1: provided by West Kowloon Cultural District
Carousel image #2: provided by West Kowloon Cultural District
Carousel image #3: Nate Schilling
small metal objects is supported by the City of Greater Geelong through its Creative Communities Grant Program and by the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expend (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative.
Back to Back Theatre is supported by Australia Council for the Arts, Creative Victoria, City of Greater Geelong and acknowledges the support of the Department of Education & Training, Victoria, through the Strategic Partnerships Program.
small metal objects was developed with support from Creative Victoria and assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding advisory body. Initiated through the Victoria Commissions, supported by the Victorian Government, through the Community Support Fund.
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