FFF3 | small metal objects

We are in the city center of Athens at Syntagma Square, watching from a bank of raised seating, each with a set of headphones. We observe passers-by and they observe us. Suddenly we all seem to be a bit odd... Theatre and reality are turned inside out. A series of issues, almost taken for granted, are unsettled.

Two years after “Ganesh Versus the Third Reich” –a remarkable allegory of the Holocaust– Back to Back Theatre returns to the Onassis Cultural Centre. Australia’s famed theatre group, consisting of internationally known artists with perceived intellectual disabilities, presents an even more unconventional and brilliant spectacle, taking place in the heart of Athens at rush hour.

What is private and what is public? What is allowed in public view and what is not? What defines one’s value and normality: personality or, perhaps, efficiency? How useful is it, in the end, to be productive? And how important are small metal objects, coins – money, that is?

The director Bruce Gladwin says: "small metal objects explores the social implications of the 'financialisation' of our culture. Its theme has particular relevance for those who are traditionally perceived as less 'productive' - people with disabilities, the unemployed, outsiders and the third world. The production is an examination of 'respect', or 'lack of respect', which consists of not being seen and not being accounted for as full human beings."

And continues, about his choice to present this show in a public space: "small metal objects delivers theatre to the mass public, lifting a seating bank from an auditorium and placing it within everyday experience. The audience becomes an installation for the general public; the general public becomes the extras of a dramatic narrative. It is a theatrical spectacle, generated by the powerful interplay of audience and public, oscillating between the roles of spectator and spectacle."

Characterized by its team as ‘a voyeuristic meditation and/or urban thriller’, this seemingly simple work is a complex public spectacle that will move you deeply.