A small Australian theater company made up of neurodiverse and disabled actors has won one of the world’s richest theater prizes, the 2.5 million Danish kroner (US$371,354) Ibsen award.
Back to Back, which was established in 1987 and is based in Geelong, were announced as the winners of the biennial prize on Sunday night in Norway. The pioneering theater company is the first Australian recipient of the award, dubbed “the Nobel prize for theater,” which goes to an individual or company “that has brought new artistic dimensions to the world of drama or theater.”
Back to Back is renowned for their acclaimed and often confronting shows, such as 2011’s Ganesh Versus the Third Reich, about the Hindu deity traveling to Germany to reclaim the swastika from the Nazis. Cast members interrupt the show to question their right to perform it.
Their other shows include Food Court (2008), Lady Eats Apple (2016) and The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes (2019).
The current Back to Back ensemble are actors Mark Deans, Scott Price, Breanna Deleo, Simon Laherty and Sarah Mainwaring.
Mainwaring said that she was “so excited” about their win.
“I think we all are, it is such an honor for all of us to get that award and to receive it from that panel,” Mainwaring said. “For them to see that in us is so fantastic, and it’s so rewarding for us to know that we can go on and build our work The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes, to tour it to more places, and make it bigger, hopefully, a finer work. It is such a privilege.”
Back to Back artistic director Bruce Gladwin said he was “shocked” by the news.
When he was first contacted by the Norwegian National Theatre, which takes part in the announcement, he thought they wanted to collaborate.
“But in that meeting, they announced that we’d won it. None of the ensemble had any idea that they were in contention for it, let alone that they’d won. They were just so moved that their work was acknowledged at that level,” Gladwin said.
“Awards are strange, because you don’t necessarily make the work to receive them. This just came out of the blue. I feel really honored that this group of international theater practitioners have been watching the company’s work for close to two decades,” he said. “They’ve acknowledged the ensemble’s insight as social commentators, which is embedded within the work. I feel quite touched about their understanding of what we’re trying to do. It’s a pat on the back for everyone.”
The Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality made the announcement on Sunday, timed to mark the birthday of celebrated Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.
“We are proud to be able to honor an outstanding and unique theater company that asks questions of their audience, of society and of each other through groundbreaking productions,” said Ingrid Lorentzen, chair of the prize committee. “Back to Back’s work is exciting, unsettling and thought-provoking. It inspires us to be better artists and better people.”
In a letter detailing its decision, the prize panel praised Back to Back’s shows as “some of the most memorable productions of 21st century theater.”
Gladwin said they had no concrete plans for the money: “We’ve just got over the shock of actually winning the award, but it is an opportunity to take some risks, to support some blue sky projects.”
Back to Back are to receive their award, which has previously gone to British playwright Peter Brook and Nobel Prize in Literature winner Peter Handke, at a ceremony in Oslo in September.
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