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Welcome to UTP’s Critical Dialogue
project, a series of essays written in dialogue between artists and
theorists that examine the relationship between artistic practice,
critical thinking and contemporary culture.
Throughout UTP's history, there has been an ongoing dialogue between
artists, academics and theorists. This relationship is mobile and
alters with each new project and while many of the company's works have
been documented through critical writing, this will often occur on an
ad hoc basis. We wish to formalise some of these relationships through
commissioning artists and writers to enter into a dialogue and reflect
on recent projects and current trends.
We hope that you enjoy this new initiative and come
back for more as we continue to add new contributions already in the
pipeline.
The middle years: Death Defying Theatre transformed
By Ian Maxwell
Department of Performance studies
University of Sydney
The first essay in our series of Critical Dialogue essays was launched
as part of our 25th birthday celebrations. Written and edited by Ian
Maxwell, the essay combines critical analysis with a dialogue between
Ian and previous DDT/UTP artistic directors Fiona Winning and John
Baylis. The essay represents key issues that have emerged from the
practice of DDT/UTP.
Read the Essay 
Plaza Real: Re-imagining Urban Spaces of Cultural Resistance
By Melissa Butcher
A discussion on the UTP and Branch Nebula co-production Plaza Real,
examining that urban mega-magnet The Mall. Melissa discusses her role
as a critical adviser to the production and its development as a
commentary on contemporary society and how we express individual and
multicultural identity within corporatised monocultural spaces.
Read the Essay
Performing Outside One’s Comfort Zone: India@oz
By Devleena Ghosh
Senior Lecturer, Social Inquiry Program
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
University of Technology, Sydney
Reflecting on UTP’s 2003 project india@oz.sangam,
social and cultural theorist Devlenna Ghosh discusses the complexity of
reconciling traditional cultural influences with contemporary
experiences for young South Asians living in Sydney. Read the Essay
Crossing Divides
By Deborah Pollard & Paschal Berry
An email exchange between performance/installation artist Deborah
Pollard and writer/dramaturg Paschal Berry maps out their unique
experiences collaborating with artists in unfamiliar cultural contexts.
Crises of culture shock, miscommunication and first-world guilt are
shared as they recount working on projects in Indonesia and the
Philippines.
Read the Emails
On Stories of Love & Hate. A Discussion by the Burramatta River, in the dark...
By Alissar Chidiac and Farid Farid
Alissar Chidiac and Farid Farid have just completed an edited transcript of a rich and heartfelt conversation they had by the Parramatta River one night that touches on love, hate, absence, the divided self and much more.
Read the Essay
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The middle years: Death Defying Theatre transformed
By Ian Maxwell
Plaza Real: Re-imagining Urban Spaces of Cultural Resistance
By Melissa Butcher
Performing Outside One’s Comfort Zone: India@oz
By Devleena Ghosh
Crossing Divides
By Deborah Pollard & Paschal Berry
On Stories of Love & Hate
By Alissar Chidiac and Farid Farid
Road Notes
Travelling Back
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