Ganesh Versus
the Third Reich
Written by Back to Back Theatre
Devised and Directed by Bruce Gladwin
at MCA Stage, 220 E. Chicago (map)
thru May 19 | tickets: $10-$28 | more info
Check for half-price tickets
Read entire review
Unique and transformative
Back to Back Theatre i/a/w MCA presents
Ganesh Versus the Third Reich
Review by Lauren Whalen
I’m having a hard time writing about Ganesh Versus the Third Reich. Not because I didn’t enjoy it, I did. How I feel about this play is not the issue – that’s easy enough to express. I was confused, then transfixed, then moved. The difficulty comes in sorting out these emotions, and effectively explaining the elements of such a production. Because Back to Back Theatre’s exploration of power and narrative is like nothing I have ever seen before, or will ever see again.
Back to Back Theatre, who conceived and now performs the award-winning show at the MCA, is an Australian company whose core ensemble of actors have disabilities. They strive to foster respect and create dialogue, and seek to examine and integrate those seen as outsiders in society. I can’t speak to their other productions, but Ganesh accomplishes each of these goals and more. Though the play has a slow start and the climactic sequence somewhat falls apart (thanks in part to an overblown music cue), it’s an intelligent exploration of perception and struggle, from the mundane to the epic. No character is flawless or faultless, and the ending isn’t neat and tidy. Yet for its grave subject matter, Ganesh is rife with subtle humor and a few laugh-out-loud moments, lest we forget that in all its complexity, human nature is downright funny.
MCA’s cavernous stage provides a blank canvas for the voyage through space and time, and Ganesh’s design team makes innovative use of plastic curtains, shadow puppets, toy guns and pachyderm heads. The audience is at once transported to Nazi Germany and grounded in the reality of putting a show together with conflicting ideologies and opinions.
Ganesh’s story and script were a collaborated effort: beginning in 2008, Back to Back ensemble members built the show through long days of improvisation. This isn’t a new approach to playwriting, but a complicated dance that doesn’t always work. Ganesh does, thanks in large part to its cast’s bare-bones honesty and complete lack of pretension. Mark Deans has impeccable timing and an expressive exuberance, and Tilley a brutish sense of truth. Ryan is the classic dictator/director and Scott Price has some great moments that are both hilarious and heartfelt. But the real standout is Simon Laherty, whose performance begins with gentle inquiry, ends with sheer conviction and carries a lovely sense of purity in between.
I’ve continued to struggle with composing this review, as I’m still sorting out my reactions. I’m not sure I’ve adequately explained Ganesh Versus the Third Reich. All I can do now is recommend it, highly, and say what’s been on my mind since I exited the theater: this production, in every possible sense, is true.
Rating: ★★★½
Ganesh Versus the Third Reich continues through May 19th at MCA’s Edlis Neeson Theater, 220 E. Chicago (map), with performances Thursday-Saturday at 7:30pm, Sunday 3pm. Tickets are $10-$28, and are available by phone (312-397-4010) or online through MCAChicago.org (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). One free admission to MCA per ticket stub. More information here. (Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes, no intermission)
Photos by Jeff Busby
artists
performers
Mark Deans, Simon Laherty, Scott Price, Luke Ryan, Brian Tilley, Georgina Naidu
behind the scenes
Bruce Gladwin (director, devisor, design), Mark Cuthbertson (design, set construction), Shio Otani (costume design), Andrew Livingston, Bluebottle (lighting design), Marco Cher-Gibard (sound design and mix), Jóhann Jóhannsson (composer), Sam Jinks, Paul Smiths (mask design and construction), Rhian Hinkley (design and animation), Alice Fleming (stage manager), Jeff Busby (photos)
13-0529
