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Festival d'Automne x Back to Back Theatre

Special ProjectsTheatre

FACEF supports Back to Back Theatre's historic Residency at the Festival d'Automne à Paris

FACEF is delighted to support the collaboration between the Festival d'Automne à Paris and Back to Back Theatre as the Geelong-based company (Victoria) takes centre stage as the festival's 'Portrait' artist for 2026.

One of Australia's most internationally acclaimed contemporary theatre companies, Back to Back Theatre is recognised globally for creating groundbreaking work. In 2024, the company became the first Australian theatre company to receive the prestigious Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at the Venice Biennale, further cementing its reputation as a major force in international contemporary performance.

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A landmark moment for Australian theatre

Since its inception, the Festival d'Automne has earned its place as one of the most anticipated events on the European cultural calendar, drawing audiences from across the globe to engage with the most vital and provocative voices in contemporary performance.
The festival's annual 'Portrait' series provides an extended, immersive focus on a single exceptional artist or company. Past subjects have included Robert Wilson, Romeo Castellucci and William Forsythe. Back to Back Theatre now takes its place among them.

Ranging from works first created in 2005 to the open rehearsal of an entirely new piece, the program offers French audiences an exceptional opportunity to trace more than two decades of Back to Back's artistic evolution. As Artistic Director Bruce Gladwin notes, retrospectives of this scope are typically reserved for the most celebrated figures in cinema, music and the visual arts, which makes this Portrait all the more extraordinary for a theatre company.

Eight weeks, five works, four venues

From November through December 2026, Back to Back Theatre is taking residency across Paris, presenting an ambitious program of performances, open rehearsals, workshops, masterclasses and community engagement activities at four venues and public spaces.

FOOD COURT

Odéon Théâtre de l'Europe

Set to music by the Australian trio The Necks, FOOD COURT plunges a woman headlong into the all-too banal horrors of a humiliating experience in the public space. Featuring a cast of three female performers with learning difficulties, the piece transforms into an experience of an intense, unsettling kind.

Credits: Jeff Busby

small metal objects

Canopée des Halles

At the crossroads between urban thriller, social satire and voyeuristic meditation, small metal objects plunges its performers into the perpetual movement of the public space. From within the heart of the crowd, the piece captures all the intensity of a personal drama.

Credits: Jeff Busby

GANESH VERSUS THE THIRD REICH

Théâtre de la Cité Internationale

At the crossroads between urban thriller, social satire and voyeuristic meditation, small metal objects plunges its performers into the perpetual movement of the public space. From within the heart of the crowd, the piece captures all the intensity of a personal drama.

Credits: Jeff Busby

RADIAL

Ménagerie de Verre and La Briqueterie

Filmed by means of a circular mechanism, RADIAL brings us a portrait of a community in motion. It is equally attentive to the collective whole as it is to the individualities of those that compose it. This in situ creation celebrates and brings together different artistic communities from the Paris region.

Credits: Rhian Hinkley

NEANDERTHAL - Histoire(s) du Théâtre VIII

Odéon Théâtre de l'Europe

Prior to its first performances in 2027, Back to Back Theatre invites audiences to discover the different phases of work behind NEANDERTHAL—Histoire(s) du théâtre VIII by being present during its rehearsals. This ambitious new piece looks into the themes of extinction and cognition.

Credits: Willem Kingma

“Presenting five works by Back to Back Theatre across four venues and public spaces feels both essential and overdue. This Portrait fills a real gap in the French cultural landscape, offering Parisian audiences a rare and ambitious encounter with a company whose work has profoundly transformed contemporary performance.”
— Francesca Corona, Artistic director theatre, dance and visual arts, Festival d'Automne

FACEF's commitment to French and Australian contemporary performance

In supporting Back to Back Theatre's Paris residency, FACEF reaffirms its dedication to fostering meaningful dialogue between the performing arts communities of France and Australia. This residency is more than a showcase - it is an embodiment of the creative exchange that lies at the heart of FACEF's mission: bringing artists and audiences together across cultures, so that each may inspire, challenge and enrich the other.

Back to Back's ensemble, led by artists who identify as having an intellectual disability or as neurodivergent, produces work that is as formally inventive as it is deeply human. Their presence at one of Europe's most prestigious festivals is a testament to the transformative power of inclusive artistic practice. It is also a vivid expression of what becomes possible when two distinct cultural traditions enter into genuine conversation, and shared curiosity opens new possibilities for contemporary performance on both sides of the world. 

With

With the support of the Australian Embassy in France & FACEF