{"id":45329,"date":"2022-03-24T04:00:55","date_gmt":"2022-03-23T17:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?p=45329"},"modified":"2022-03-24T11:51:58","modified_gmt":"2022-03-24T00:51:58","slug":"back-to-back-wins-theatres-nobel-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/back-to-back-wins-theatres-nobel-prize\/","title":{"rendered":"Back to Back wins theatre’s ‘Nobel Prize’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Geelong’s Back to Back Theatre is basking in the glow of winning the coveted International Ibsen Award which is regarded as \u2018the Nobel Prize for Theatre\u2019.<\/p>\n

The award was announced by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and comes with a prize equivalent to almost $400,000.<\/p>\n

The Ibsen Award is handed out every two years and honours an individual or company that has brought new artistic dimensions to the world of drama or theatre.<\/p>\n

Back to Back Theatre, a professional theatre company with an ensemble of actors with disabilities at its core, is the first Australian company to receive the award which will be presented at a ceremony in Oslo in September.<\/p>\n

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From 2009 to 2022, the multi-award winning company undertook 72 national and 89 international seasons of its work.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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For ensemble member Scott Price, who has been with the company for 15 years, receiving the major award was an honour and a welcome recognition of their achievements.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means a lot. It means recognition of our art. It is a privilege and an honour. It was probably the proudest day in my career,\u201d Price said.<\/p>\n

Back to Back artistic director and co-CEO, Bruce Gladwin said the achievement was testament to the many amazing artists who had collaborated with the Back to Back Ensemble over the past three decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe presentation of The International Ibsen Award honours not only the ensemble\u2019s talent and unique insight as social commentators but the richness and depth of Australian contemporary theatre,\u201d Gladwin said.<\/p>\n

Back to Back Theatre is widely recognised as an Australian theatre company of national and international significance and is considered one of Australia\u2019s most important cultural exporters.<\/p>\n

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Back to Back Theatre is a multi-award winning professional theatre company with an ensemble of actors with disabilities at its core. Photo: ZAN WIMBERLY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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From 2009 to 2022, the multi-award winning company undertook 72 national and 89 international seasons of its work.<\/p>\n

International Ibsen Award Committee chair Ingrid Lorentzen described Back to Back as \u201can outstanding and unique theatre company\u201d known for its ground-breaking productions.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack to Back\u2019s work is exciting, unsettling and thought-provoking. It inspires us to be better artists and better people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBack to Back gives voice to social and political issues, and their work is a relentlessly collective practice, where several creators, ideas and perspectives are always present and create a space for inclusion and opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greater Geelong deputy mayor Trent Sullivan said the local community was incredibly proud of Back to Back Theatre and the impact it has made on an international stage.<\/p>\n

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Back to Back Theatre will be presented with the prestigious Ibsen International Award at a ceremony in Oslo in September. Photo: JEFF BUSBY<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u201cTo receive an award of this magnitude is incredible, and completely deserved.\u00a0It is fitting recognition of the creativity and hard work of everyone involved in the company.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s Ibsen award ceremony will take place at the National Theatre in Oslo on September 18.<\/p>\n

Back to Back will perform a season of the award-winning Ganesh Versus the Third Reich<\/em> alongside the company\u2019s most recent major work, The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes<\/em>, in Oslo from September 16-19.<\/p>\n