Society knows no bounds

Councillor Jim Mason joined executive producer Alice Nash, Mayor Bruce Harwood, ensemble member Sonia Teuben and Deputy Mayor Peter Murrihy at a pre-launch lunch for Society at Courthouse Youth Arts.

The latest work by Theatre of Speed, Society, has opened to rave reviews with audiences encouraged to challenge a variety of social constructs.

TOS (Theatre of Speed) run in conjunction with Back to Back Theatre is a group of 15 young people with intellectual disabilities who meet weekly in Geelong to make art together.

Society, the group’s first major work since 2015, ran across August 22-25, with the play exploring groups; how they function, how they are created, the dynamics within them and the rules that govern them.

Tamara Searle, Back to Back’s artistic associate and Society director, said the piece used members’ unique experiences and perspectives as people living with disability.

“Society is a sometimes playful, sometimes troubling exploration of social behaviour,” she said.

“Because of their experience with disability, the actors in TOS have particular insights into interdependence versus independence. They have drawn on those particular experiences to create this performance.”

Executive producer Alice Nash said Society was a wonderful piece from their experimental theatre group.

“We were excited to share it first with an audience of some of our company’s closest friends and supporters. Written and performed by Geelong community members with disabilities: it is heart-filled, with a lean elegance and some caucus moments too, and finely performed,” she said.

“The feedback from the audience was extremely positive. An elderly member of the audience said it was beautiful and tears then welled her eyes, that it had moved her deeply, making her joyful and sad at the same time.”

Prior to each performance, audience members were invited to participate in an online survey about their views on groups, with the results worked into the play and projected on the walls.

Geelong Mayor Bruce Harwood attended a pre-event lunch accompanied by deputy mayor Peter Murrihy and said he was extremely impressed.

“I was lucky enough to attend the Back to Back Theatre company’s first performance of ‘Society’. It was a brilliant show, thought-provoking and very well acted,” he said.

“I encourage everyone to go along and see a production from this nationally and internationally renowned theatre company based here in Geelong.”