Back to Back Theatre

Back to Back Theatre is an Australian theater company that engages with disabilities on stage. The company is based in Geelong, Victoria creating its work nationally and touring around the world. The work produced by the company explores questions about politics, ethics, and philosophy in humanity.

The company originated in 1987, and a year later its first performance Big Bag was put on stage. In 1999 the company gained an Artistic Director Bruce Gladwin who helped nurture the company's unique artistic voice with an emphasis on the ensemble's commentaries on broad social and cultural dialogue. Created through a process of research, improvisation and scripting, new work is realized via collaboration between the ensemble, artistic directors, and guest artists.

The ensemble currently consists of six actors, all of whom are neurodivergent or disabled. As of May 2022 the Back to Back ensemble is: Simon Laherty, Sarah Mainwaring, Scott Price, Mark Deans, and Breanna Deleo.

Back to Back Theater reached its first international attention in 2007 after touring with small metal objects and winning a Green Room Award. Another play Ganesh versus the Third Reich revolved around ideas of eugenics and Nazism and received a Helpmann award after its first performance in 2012. In 2019 the company also engaged in some film work creating Oddlands a 28-minute pilot for TV that will grow into a six-part series.

The size of the company's cast and narrow demographic received some criticism for avoiding the inclusion of conversation about race in the disability movement.

In 2013 Back to Back theater published a book We're People Who Do Shows ― Back to Back Theatre Performance, Politics, Visibility that expanded on the company's artistic vision, process, and history.

Currently, the company has been working on a film Shadow that will be showcased at Sydney Film Festival on June 15, 2022. The film is a contradictory commentary on activism in disabled communities.