A theatre company with a global following exploring universal themes could be based anywhere. So why is the Geelong monologue so important in Back to Back’s script? JOHN VAN KLAVEREN goes backstage.
It’s described as a leading contemporary theatre company in books, articles, academia and reviews all over the world. Well, everywhere except Geelong, apparently.
Local audiences make up only a tiny percentage of those who have been taken in by the unique reverse theatrical engineering approach produced by this ensemble cast of actors with a disability.
At least, a perceived disability, as production blurbs for the company maintain.
And that is just part of the intriguing discussion Back to Back attempts to introduce through works that are at times construed as controversial.
There are many questions that intrigue the creative leaders at Geelong’s Back to Back Theatre Company – and this circle includes the actors themselves – and the resulting shows are as much about asking them as answering them.
Productions do not have writing credits, but contributors to the concepts and outlines of productions are included as “devisors”.
Chief among the devisors however is creative director Bruce Gladwin, who also acts as co-CEO of the company with executive producer Alice Nash.
The pair has worked hand-in-hand at the company for 13 years, developing a fine-tuned chemistry to drive this little theatre company to international heights.
In 2013 alone Back to Back undertook 86 performances, performed two different works in six countries and 15 venues as part of one national and four international tours to 23,579 audience members.
Ganesh versus the Third Reich played in New York, Chicago, Montreal, Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin and Tokyo. Super Discount played seasons at Sydney’s Wharf 1 Theatre and the Malthouse in Melbourne.
In August Ganesh embarked on another lengthy European tour taking in the Edinburgh International Festival, one of only two Australian theatre companies to be invited.
A six week tour of Helsinki in Finland, Weimar in Germany, Zurich and Basil in Switzerland followed, with further dates in Dublin, Ireland.
Back to Back has become one of the darlings of arts funding through the Australia Council and Arts Victoria while garnering sponsorship from major trusts and foundations, including Geelong’s Give Where You Live.
As a not-for profit organisation, Back to Back is doing well, managing funding reserves to maximise its position, even though it has maintained itself as a professional theatre company, paying its actors and mostly part-time staff of 13 along with up to 25 casual guest artists and technical crew.
So why is this theatrical prophet failing to receive the honour it seems to deserve in its hometown?
It is clear both Alice and Bruce value the Geelong-born history of the company.
“The company started 27 years ago as a way to offer people with disabilities an alternative just as de-institutionalisation was occurring,” Bruce explains.
“It was actually the strength of community theatre in Geelong that helped spawn it all. I recall when I was studying theatre in university my lecturer saying that if you want to get into theatre, go to Geelong and get involved.”
The idea of using music, drama and visual arts as a means to involve and engage people with disabilities developed a culture which still underpins the company.
“It was art focussed, rather than disability focussed and that culture is spot on,” Alice adds.
“It is important we are from Geelong. It adds something that otherwise would be missing. We could be based in an inner Melbourne suburb, but it wouldn’t be the same.
“There’s a freedom that flows from being in a regional location, plus we have got this incredible home, a wonderful space to work in.”
Back to Back is warmly ensconced in Geelong’s Courthouse Arts building with offices, meeting rooms and a large performance space where all its award-winning productions are developed.
The more relaxed location pays dividends for Back to Back’s long gestational period for shows, often years in the making.
Bruce describes it as creative investigation, with the key inspiration leading to the development of a production possible at any point in a process.
“We make it slowly and carefully because it becomes part of the company for a decade, it’s part of building a body of work,” Bruce says.
“Time is a crucial ingredient in the creative process, so there’s always a tension between space and time for creative responsibility.”
“We use the actor’s intelligence because what they have to say about society is inspiring to audiences,” Alice adds.
“Their insights into the world from a place that is outside the norm makes them fearless, allows them to go places you can’t go in real life.”
The cast has a representative on the committee of management. “They have real power in the company,” Alice says.
That power extends to contributing to the development and writing of shows. “The idea for Ganesh came from the actors,” Bruce points out.
“It’s a collective authorship as we explore themes like economics and human value, to understand what it means to be human.”
The added element of disability does have its practical requirements but the company has turned it to its creative benefit. “We keep the idiosyncrasies and make an advantage of them,” Bruce says.
That’s part of the reason the company runs it’s Theatre of Speed, a workshop program that engages a wider range of actors in a more experimental setting.
“Three of our current cast members came through that program,” Alice says. “We also recruited Simon and Scott from Nelson Park School.”
Changing societal attitudes in the way we view disability coupled with recent policy developments also play a part in how Back to Back sees itself and its role in the local community.
“Having Barwon as a National Disability Insurance Scheme trial site will also give opportunities to others,” Alice says. “We see it as part of our responsibility to offer options to those who want to explore the arts.”
