Back to Back Theatre has announced that The Festival d’Automne à Paris has this week confirmed the company as the featured ‘Portrait’ artist for 2026, marking the first ever ‘Portrait’ presentation of an Australian artist in the festival.
This outstanding opportunity represents a significant moment for Australian contemporary performance and recognises Back to Back Theatre as a leader on the global stage, building on recent honours, including the International Ibsen Award (2022) and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre at the Venice Biennale (2024).
The Festival d’Automne à Paris is one of the world’s most important contemporary festivals with an artistic standard that makes it a global reference. Taking place from September to January, it presents over eighty events in some sixty partner venues across Paris and Île-de-France attracting audiences of around two hundred and fifty thousand from across Europe and the globe.
Each year the Festival presents “Portraits” of outstanding figures on the international scene. The selected artist is showcased through the presentation of multiple works across an extended residency.
These ‘Portraits’ become a festival within themselves, offering a unique opportunity for deep exploration and immersion into an artist’s body of work, and insight into their creative practice and evolution. Past ‘Portrait’ artists have included Robert Wilson (USA), William Forsythe (Germany), Romeo Castellucci (Italy), Unsuk Chin (Korea), Krystian Lupa (Poland), Irvine Arditti & Quatuor Arditti (UK), and Lucinda Childs (USA). Australia’s Back To Back Theatre has now joined this list.
“The Portraits are unique opportunities to enter deeply into the world of a singular artistic voice. In the case of Back to Back Theatre, an extraordinary collective imagination… Presenting five works by Back to Back Theatre across four venues and public spaces feels both essential and overdue,” said Festival d’Automne à Paris Director Francesa Corrona.
“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.”
“From works created in 2005 to the open rehearsals of Neanderthal, their future creation, nearly 12 000 spectators will experience a body of work that moves between theatre and public space, and that speaks powerfully to the communities and realities of our time,” said Corrona.
As the 2026 Portrait artist, Back to Back Theatre will take up residence in Paris for 8 weeks across November and December, presenting a substantial program of activity including:
• Food Court at Odéon Théâtre de l’Europe, season (14 performances)
• Small Metal Objects at Canopée des Halles (5 performances)
• Ganesh Versus the Third Reich at Théâtre de la Cité Internationale (5 performances)
• Radial at Ménagerie de Verre and LaBriqueterie (2 new film outcomes)
• Neanderthal: Histoire(s) du Théâtre VIII (creative development) at the Odéon (2 weeks)
• Masterclasses, workshops, and public discussions
“Presenting 5 works at Festival D’Automne is an amazing opportunity to see the catalogue of Back to Back Theatre’s creative practice spanning twenty one years. Retrospectives are usually the bastion of the most respected cinema, music and the visual arts, so as a theatre company it feels exciting and humbling to be bestowed with this Paris Portrait,” said Artistic Director Bruce Gladwin,.
“The invitation is a tribute to the long list of artists who have fed Back to Back’s creative fire since its inception in 1987. Realising the delivery of 5 theatrical works across eight weeks will require stamina, logistical precision and refined artistry. Our ensemble of actors and their collaborators are ready for the challenge. As the Artistic Director I am thrilled and honoured to be part of the experience.”
Ahead of its Paris Season, Ganesh Versus the Third Reich will also be performed for a limited season with University of Melbourne Arts and Culture (UMAC) at the Union Theatre from 17 – 19 June 2026.
Image: Ganesh Versus the Third Reich – photo by Jeff Busby