RISING 2021 Podcast •
Back to Back Theatre with John Safran and Vikrant Kishore
In a play led by neuro-diverse performers, a Hindu god reclaims the Swastika from the Third Reich. Whose story is it to tell?
featuring Bruce Gladwin, Scott Price, John Safran and Dr. Vikrant Kishore
Comedian John Safran is no stranger to religious controversy, yet, as he steers a conversation about a Hindu god’s attempt to reclaim the Swastika from the Third Reich, the controversial problem of identity politics takes centre stage. For context, Hindu academic Dr. Vikrant Kishore intervenes. Under the spotlight, Back to Back theatre’s director Bruce Gladwin and performer Scott Price are interrogated.
Extended Description
Episode Credits:
Created by Litmus Media
Producer: Mahmood Fazal
Editor and Associate Producer: Eugene Yang
Mastering Engineer: Geoffrey O’Connor
Engineer: Craig Bryant Music: Dan Luscombe
Additional Music: Jóhann Jóhannsson (Back to Back Theatre)
Ganesh Versus The Third Reich at RISING 2021
Back To Back Theatre
As they rehearse a play about a Hindu deity’s confrontation with a racist dictator, a small theatre company’s dynamics become increasingly strained.
A small theatre company is rehearsing their new play. Ganesh, the elephant-headed Hindu god of beginnings, is on a mission to reclaim the swastika—an auspicious symbol in Indian religions mis-appropriated by the German Nazi party in World War 2. But as the work is created, the company’s dynamics become increasingly strained.
In Ganesh Versus the Third Reich, layers of history and experience overlap. As with all Back to Back Theatre productions, the work is partly performed and devised by people living with disability—a fact made all the more poignant as the actors play the Nazi soldiers who once sought to exterminate people like them.
In this play within a play, the actors question whether they should be making it at all, wrestling with their right to embody characters and cultures to which they don’t belong.
Visit the RISING website for more information on Ganesh vs The Third Reich
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Acclaimed opera singer Deborah Cheetham imagines the bodies of water, the Birrarung and Maribyrnong, as she channels their significance in her song, remembrance and calling for The Rivers Sing. In a conversation with journalist Daniel Browning, we hear how the lapping water evokes the tides of a tragic history for First Nations people and asks who is really listening?
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How two drummers, from Australia's most iconic instrumental bands, found their rhythm
featuring Tony Buck, Jim White and Woody McDonald
Tony Buck earned his stripes as a jazz drummer in the Sydney Conservatorium of Music before forming cult improv band The Necks. Jim White earned his chops as a punk drummer in raucous Melbourne pubs throughout the early days of noise rock trio The Dirty Three. From opposite ends, their rhythms lay the foundation for the best instrumental bands in Australia. This is the story of how it all unfolded.
Hosts
Various Hosts
RISING is a major cultural event for the Asia Pacific Region, created by a diverse team of local, national and international artists and curators. RISING will begin on the evening of the total lunar eclipse in May 2021. Interlocking circles of experience and connection will radiate through the night, as the city re-synchronises and is re-energised with public art, performance and music spanning the emerging and iconic, the epic and intimate. The inaugural festival will take place 26 May – 6 June 2021 in the heart of Melbourne. The full program is available at www.rising.melbourne
