| small metal objects | Back to Back Theatre |
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 Simon Laherty in small metal objects. Photo - Jeff Busby
Internationally acclaimed Back to Back Theatre returns to Melbourne with small metal objects
– sell-out of the 2005 Melbourne International Arts Festival at
Flinders Street Station and 2007 Sydney Festival – as part of a
national tour that includes Perth International Arts Festival,
Brisbane, Mildura, Bendigo and Hobart’s Ten Days on the Island Festival.
Back to Back Theatre startled and engaged thousands of commuters with their recent site-specific performance of small metal objects
at Circular Quay for their critically acclaimed Sydney Festival season.
These master provocateurs return to dazzle, challenge and interact with
the hordes of human traffic at Melbourne’s Federation Square, for one
week only.
Winner of the The Age Critics’ Awards Special Commendation at the 2005
Melbourne International Arts Festival and most recently nominated for a
2006 Helpmann Award for Best New Australian Work, small metal objects
is a complex and riveting meditation on human worth. No two shows are
the same, as the audience – by virtue of their people-watching – are a
talking point for passers-by, making it a unique and innovative
theatrical experience.
A ticket to the event includes headphones, giving the audience
exclusive access to the narrative through both dialogue and soundscape.
Actors with radio microphones interact and move freely throughout the
crowd. For the audience, this creates an effect between documentary and
theatre, an insight into a hidden landscape within the metropolis.
small metal objects is a comic fable of two “invisible” friends and
their accidental but pivotal role in the night of two ambitious
executives. The performance takes place in the open-air where commuters
and passers-by are the supporting cast. The audience, wearing
headphones and watching the moving crowd, start hearing the voices of
two men discussing love, life and a roast chicken dinner.
The story plays out amid a parade of mostly unwitting tourists,
workers, vendors and joggers as the audience listen to their intimate
conversation whilst trying to identify the performers in the passing
crowd. Part voyeuristic meditation, part urban thriller, the effect for
the audience is an unforgettable mix of eavesdropping, documentary and
theatre.
Back to Back Theatre formed in 1987 in Geelong with a core
ensemble of five actors perceived as having intellectual disabilities,
their view of the world unconstrained by convention. Back to Back Theatre’s
work introduces an idiosyncratic perspective on everyday issues placing
things that exist outside the norm within the mainstream. They have
performed over 27 original works for theatre and tour extensively in
Europe and Australia.
“...a startling and heart-swelling blend of the micro and the
momentous in our world. It is a pure, open-hearted complex and
breathtaking production.” “...exceptional piece of theatre." Sydney
Morning Herald 05/01/07
“The feelings that arise from watching these interactions – some
uncomfortable, some reassuring – will stay with you. Small Metal
Objects draws attention to the people we habitually crop out of the
picture. That alone makes it this year’s essential festival
experience.” Sun Herald 14/1/07
Arts House and Mobile States in association with Federation Square present
small metal objects
Back to Back Theatre
Directed by Bruce Gladwin
Devisors Simon Laherty, Sonia Teuben, Genevieve Morris, Jim Russell
Sound Composer & Designer/Devisor Hugh Covill
Venue: Federation Square, Cnr Swanston + Flinders Streets, Melbourne Mel Ref: 1B N10
Dates: 7 - 11 March 2007
Times: 6.30pm, 2pm matinee Saturday + Sunday (50mins, no interval)
Tickets: Full $25 / Conc $18
Bookings: easytix.com.au/artshouse or 03 9639 0096
Info: www.backtobacktheatre.com
Produced for Mobile States by Performing Lines
Contains strong language
As an outdoor production, audiences are advised to prepare for all weather conditions.
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Thursday, 08 January 2009
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