The Festival d’Automne à Paris has announced that the Geelong-based Back to Back Theatre will be its featured Portrait artist for 2026, marking the first time that an Australian artist has been selected for the position.

Back to Back Theatre’s Ganesh Versus The Third Reich. Photo © Jeff Busby

As the Portrait artist, the theatre company is recognised as a “leader on the global stage” by the festival. It will undertake an eight-week residency in Paris during November and December, which will feature the presentation of its works Food Court (Odéon Théâtre de l’Europe), Small Metal Objects (Canopée des Halles) and Ganesh Versus The Third Reich (Théâtre de la Cité Internationale).

It will also undertake a creative development for its new work Neanderthal at the Odéon, see two new film outcomes for its collaborative project Radial at Ménagerie de Verre and LaBriqueterie, and participate in a series of masterclasses, workshops and public discussions.

The Festival d’Automne is a major international contemporary arts festival presented across Paris. This year’s festival runs from September to December, and features more than 80 events. The Portrait artist position celebrates the outstanding achievements of an international artist across the festival, with previous artists including Korean composer Unsuk Chin, the late American director and playwright Robert Wilson and the Arditti Quartet, led by British violinist Irvine Arditti.

Founded in 1987, Back to Back Theatre is a contemporary theatre company that platforms and presents works by artists with disability in the mediums of theatre and film. Ahead of its Paris run, its work Ganesh Versus The Third Reich will return to the stage for the first time since 2011 with performances at the University of Melbourne Arts and Culture’s Union Theatre from 17–19 June.

Back to Back Theatre’s Food Court. Photo supplied

Being selected as Portrait artist is just one recognition in a hefty list of recent international honours awarded to Back to Back Theatre. In 2024, Venice Biennale awarded the company its prestigious Golden Lion Award for Lifetime Achievement describing it as “the pioneer of renewal in Australian theatre and one of the companies known around the world for making disability a tool of artistic enquiry”. In 2022, it also became the first Australian company to be recognised with an International Ibsen Award, one of the world’s most significant theatre prizes.

More about Back to Back Theatre can be found here.