NEANDERTHAL
Histoire(s) du Théâtre VIII
The Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts
Monash University Clayton Campus
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An individual’s collapse meets a species’ extinction. Created by Back to Back Theatre’s neurodivergent ensemble, NEANDERTHAL fuses deep science, brass music, and sharp satire to ask: if Neanderthals were so much like us, what is our future?
An individual’s journey into obsolescence, set against the extinction of a species.
Inspired by conversations with Monash paleoanthropologists, a philosopher, and a Lacanian psychoanalyst, Back to Back Theatre presents NEANDERTHAL, an expansive work interrogating cognition, survival and human exceptionalism.
In a sweeping narrative spanning prehistory and contemporary society, an acclaimed voice-over artist recording a natural history documentary faces a sequence of life-changing events, forcing him to confront his own irrelevance. Co-written by an ensemble of actors with intellectual disabilities, NEANDERTHAL parallels historical misunderstandings of Neanderthal capacity with societal perceptions of neurodiversity. Using theatrical satire, wigs, fake moustaches and a pervasive narration, centuries of ableism are boldly subverted.
Accompanied on stage by a brass quintet delivering a lush score by Grammy-nominated composer Andy Clausen, eleven performers combine music, choreography, and acting in Back to Back’s largest-scale production to date. Simultaneously a quest for authenticity, a meticulous documentary, and a grand theatrical experiment, NEANDERTHAL is an unapologetically complex, visionary masterpiece.
ARTISTIC CREDITS
Devisors: Bruce Gladwin, Alana Hoggart, Erin Kearns, Grace Kenny, Simon Laherty, Nathan Legg, Sarah Mainwaring, Scott Price, Ingrid Voorendt, Jessica Walker
Director: Bruce Gladwin
Composer: Andy Clausen
NEANDERTHAL was originally commissioned by Monash University through MPAC.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative, managed by Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body, in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc., commissioned by RISING Melbourne, Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival, Perth Festival, Wiener Festwochen (Vienna), Kunstenfestivaldesartes (Brussels), Berliner Festspiele (Berlin), Festival d’Automne (Paris), and Culturgest (Lisbon).
Back to Back Theatre is supported by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body, the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria, the City of Greater Geelong, and the Anthony Costa Foundation, with support from the Keir Foundation and Geelong Arts Centre.