GANESH VERSUS THE THIRD REICH is poignant, heartwarming, beautiful, disarming, full of vulnerability and sly transparency. The story begins with the elephant-headed god Ganesh traveling through Nazi Germany to reclaim the swastika, an ancient Hindu symbol. As this intrepid hero embarks on his journey, a second narrative is revealed: the actors themselves begin to feel the weighty responsibility of storytellers and question the ethics of cultural appropriation. Cleverly interwoven in the play’s design is the story of a young man inspired to create a play about Ganesh, god of overcoming obstacles. He is an everyman who must find the strength to overcome the difficulties in his own life, and defend his play and his collaborators against an overbearing colleague.

The show is made before our very eyes and takes on its own life. It invites us to examine who has the right to tell a story and who has the right to be heard. It explores our complicity in creating and dismantling the world, human possibility and hope.

GANESH VERSUS THE THIRD REICH is a serious investigation into issues of cultural appropriation: it explores who has the authority to tell stories, and how stories can be told. In 2011, before the show premiered, members of Hindu communities protested the company’s intent to portray the Indian deity, Ganesh. After its premiere in 2011 and its multitude of seasons since, we feel that the content of the work is being understood, and extremely well received in the context in which we’re presenting it.

Credits:

GANESH VERSUS THE THIRD REICH

Director: Bruce Gladwin

Devisors: Bruce Gladwin, Mark Deans, Marcia Ferguson, Nicky Holland, Simon Laherty, Sarah Mainwaring, Scott Price, Kate Sulan, Brian Tilley & David Woods

Performed by: Mark Deans, Simon Laherty, Scott Price, Brian Tilley & David Woods

Additional Performance: Georgina Naidu

Design: Bruce Gladwin

Lighting Design: Andrew Livingston, Bluebottle

Design & Set Construction: Mark Cuthbertson 

Design & Animation: Rhian Hinkley

Composer Jóhann Jóhannsson

Mask Design & Construction: Sam Jinks & Paul Smits

Costume Design: Shio Otani

Creative Development Actors: Brian Lipson, James Saunders, Sonia Teuben

Stage Manager: Berni Sweeney

Sound Design & Mix: Lachlan Carrick

Script Consultant: Melissa Reeves

Support Worker: Jo Leishman

Sound System Design: Hugh Covill

Lighting Operator: Michele Bauer

Assistant Stage Manager: Louise Miller

Costumiers: Anna Pontelandolfo, Dina Lira, Patricia Chircop, Sue Southern & Rohani Osman

Transcription: Anna Pollard

Translation: Karen Witthuhn

Executive Producer: Alice Nash