AustLit

'We are finite in an infinite world: the punchline of existence is how little of it we're given.

'An anxious god whips up the universe to garner some praise. A mesmerist makes concrete the internal workings of a woman's mind. A new Adam and Eve emerge in the unlikeliest of spaces.

'Australia's Back to Back Theatre is unarguably one of the world's most exciting and urgent companies working today, tirelessly charting trails deeper into the landscape of the unconscious.

'Collapsing the space between the epic and the everyday and divining the mythic in the mundane, Lady Eats Apple is the company’s largest-scale work to date: a cosmic dance from the Garden of Eden to a medieval snowstorm to the urban jungle we live in.' (Production summary)

'"Ganesh Versus the Third Reich' is a serious investigation into the issues about cultural appropriation: it explores who has the authority to tell stories, and how - via symbols, rituals and the like - stories can be told.

Back to Back Theatre is a theatre company with an ensemble of actors with disabilities at its core. In presenting "Ganesh Versus the Third Reich", Back to Back is seeking, in part , to examine how individuals who are perceived to be outsiders (of all kinds), can comment and respond to, and so by extension, be more strongly integrated into a pluralistic society. Through our work, we are seeking to engender dialogue and tolerance. In our opinion, Ganesh is treated with great respect in the work. His integrity and status is never threatened. He is all powerful.

Ganesh is the hero of the work and has an embodiment of goodness and greatness. The representation of Ganesh is not ridiculed or engaged in violent action in the performance. In developing the show, Back to Back Theatre has researched how Ganesh and other deities have been represented in cinema, theatre, graphic novels and dance from the 1960s to the present.

We consider the representation of Ganesh in the work is within the parameters of the cannon that currently exists. We would like to assure members of the Hindu community that it is not our intent to portray Ganesh in a way that is disrespectful. We regret any inadvertent concern or apprehension about the play which may have arisen prior to its performance. Source: www.malthousetheatre.com.au/ (Sighted 04/10/2011).

'Set in the lush minimalism of an illuminated white void, the story of one woman's humiliation is played out in a psychological space constructed from light and sound. Luminously fragile, 'Food Court' is a near death experience in a suburban wonderland where a small fatality of dignity takes place between The Asian Hut and The Juice Bar.'

Source: Back to Back Theatre website, http://www.backtobacktheatre.com/
Sighted: 14/10/2008

'It’s street-theatre-but-not-as-we-know-it in which the performers are disguised threads in the very real tapestry of a busy city thoroughfare and we, be-headphoned on raked seating, are the ones on display to be ignored or gawked at by passers-by. Via our ears though, the familiar urban scene becomes a movie replete with evocative score, and its cast of thousands is quickly narrowed down to four protagonists. Locating them isn’t easy, and it’s part of the game, but their story is as surprising and compelling as any thriller.'

Source: Adelaide Festival.