The Toronto Theatre Review: Back to Back Theatre’s The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes

By Ross

It’s a fascinating idea, to process a complicated query through a very inspiring unique narrative. To find an angle to unpack something or understand something in a different light. The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes begins with a discussion of consent. Centered around when it is appropriate to touch someone. And where. And when it is not. The informal interaction, like most of the play, pulls us in, mainly due to the compelling nature of the exacting questions and the answers given by the first two to come out on that bare Berkeley Street Theatre stage. From a detailed determined perspective, this is an abstraction, a false setup, but thoughtfully coming from a real place; a collision of sorts, rolling in with five chairs stacked, to open up a dialogue, and to unpack it more than one can imagine in its simplistic form. 

The two; Sarah, portrayed by Sarah Mainwaring, and Scott, played by Scott Price, with a third, Simon, portrayed by Simon Laherty, coming in soon after, have gathered together in our presence for a public meeting; “the type of meeting you would hope to happen in a certain kind of democracy.” They hope to talk about decisions made around collective and individual responsibility regarding language, comprehension, and other ideas that swirl around the word, ‘disability’ and/or ‘neurodiversity.’ A topic of great worth and need, but they also push hard around the ideas of AI, sexual harassment, Kevin Spacey, and even Michael Jackson’s music. And their performances of this fabricated but authentic interaction elevate and expand the conversation most majestically without feeling false or forced. 

These three are not only their characters, but they are also the co-authors and dramaturges for this piece of inventive and innovative theatre, and it’s clear we have a lot to get through. The framing is fascinatingly solid, even if it remains a bit distant and sometimes removed. Yet, the novel ideas these three bring form, surrounded by oversized structures that make them seem smaller than how small and insignificant society already sees them as, most incorrectly, create questions that aren’t so easy to answer. And in its calculated construction, The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes doesn’t pretend to have the answers. 

As directed by Bruce Gladwin, the Artistic Director of Back to Back Theatre, the piece that is rolled out at Canadian Stage’s Berkeley Street Theater raises the bar and alters assumptions about many things. It shifts the dialogue around, making us look at these formulations, like AI and our subsequent humanity and usefulness through a lens that maybe we never understood or even tried to comprehend before. Especially for those who don’t see themselves as disabled. 

Back to Back Theatre is one of the only companies in the world that creates work entirely by neurodivergent people, including artists with Down syndrome and autism. Their goal is to “question the assumptions of what is possible in theatre, but also the assumptions we hold about ourselves and others.”

The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes has a few assumptions it would like to address through several visual and written tricks up its sleeves, particularly about how ableism sneaks in and divides. We are all lagging behind when we contrast and compare ourselves to AI, and in their purposeful banter, we start to unwrap something that maybe we never thought about or investigated. And maybe we should, particularly when it asks the ultimate and fundamental question that lies at its captivating core: “If artificial intelligence took over the world, would human beings all end up living with an intellectual disability?”

It’s a sharply created laid-out landscape, giving us a sly vantage point rarely delivered. High above these three’s heads, a screen transcribes everything they say, with a few quick corrections that draw out giggles as we all know those embarrassing moments of spell check. Technology hovers over them like a force, with these three fighting back when needed. It’s AI physicalized through voice recognition, all for our benefit, to make sure we understand all, even when the three are speaking English just like everyone else in the audience. It’s a compelling argument about power dynamics, especially when consent hasn’t exactly been given.

Written and performed by these three neuro-divergent actors, The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes fiddles with the constructs of traditional theater and plays with our perceptions that surround their disabilities. The three performers from Australia’s Back to Back Theatre challenge many contemporary presumptions as the meeting attempts to move forward, even when stalled by one’s fear and discomfort. Not to mention the powerful influence of artificial intelligence compared to the human mind. Try to get yourself down to see this compelling and unique narrative. Your eyes, mind, and heart will hopefully be opened and altered in a way that theatre doesn’t often offer, even though it should. It has a lot to say about ableism and disability, especially from this talented cast, and the double shame that is somehow built on top. I don’t know a soul who wouldn’t benefit from attending this theatrical civic ‘meeting’. 

The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes runs at Canadian Stage until January 28. Tickets are available here