Back to Back Theatre

Ganesh Versus the Third Reich

«What kind of a freak are you?», the Nazis ask the the elephant-headed god who has come all the way from India. «I am God himself», he answers, «God Ganesh». The latest production of the Australian Back to Back Theatre, an ensemble of actors with disabilities, is theatre within a theatre: The actors and the director rehearse a play, in which the Hindu god Ganesh is sent to Nazi Germany to reclaim the Swastika, an ancient Hindu symbol for good luck and well-being. As the rehearsal progresses, it becomes apparent that the misuse of power and alienation is not only taking place in times of war but also in the rehearsal room. «Courageous, confronting, intelligent and magisterially considered theatre», the Australian newspaper The Age raved. (kdi)