Sydney Opera House Unwraps New Work

The Sydney Opera House today announced a biannual season featuring acclaimed work by new artists, and new kinds of work by established artists, as part of its support for the R&D end of the Australian performing arts.

UnWrapped will take place in May and August each year as the highlight of the Opera House's new Artist & Sector Development initiative, through which Australia's preeminent performing arts centre is supporting Australian independent artists and small-to-medium companies creating new, interesting and risk-taking work.

NSW Minister for the Arts, Don Harwin, says: "There is a wealth of talent, creativity and opportunity in our local independent arts scene and I applaud the Opera House for investing in the development of and raising awareness about this sector. The new Artist & Sector Development program will highlight independent voices and contemporary Australian work that is critical to enriching the State's arts and cultural landscape."

Sydney Opera House Head of Programming, Fiona Winning says: "Great work is being created every day around Australia and too often it disappears after one or two seasons. We want to ensure that exciting new work reaches a wider audience and attracts the sort of attention that can lead to touring. It is an important part of the Opera House's remit and we take it very seriously."

The inaugural May 2018 UnWrapped season features:

• Two of Australia's most-established and best-loved performers, Brian Lipson and Gideon Obarzanek, in Two Jews walk into a theatre... an exploration of the father-son relationship that Australian Stage described as "unmissable and unforgettable" and that charts new territory for each, with Obarzanek performing and speaking, rather than choreographing, and Lipson engaging in contemporary dance
• A Faint Existence is The Sydney Morning Herald five-star reviewed debut by Kristina Chan - one of Australia's most acclaimed dancers and up-and-coming choreographers. Melding dance, design and music, Chan's performance explores our complex connection to the environment
• Mother's Ruin: A Cabaret About Gin is a riotous romp through the history of gin, from 18th Century London to New York's speakeasies, from the Australian bush to the jungles of Peru. A 60-minute cabaret performed by two of Australia's rising stars, Maeve Marsden and Libby Wood, the show features songs originally performed by Amy Winehouse, Nina Simone, Martha Wainwright, The Popes, The Pretenders and more
• Personal - recipient of the Green Room Award for Innovation in Experiential Theatre 2016, Jodee Mundy Collaborations creates inspirational theatre, events, installations and artistic interventions, which aim to challenge ideas of inclusiveness. Her latest work, Personal, deftly blends performance, storytelling, multimedia and animation in a smart, touching and deeply intimate sharing of her own experience growing up as the only hearing person in a Deaf family. Created with a talented team of collaborators and presented in two languages, Auslan and English via a virtual interpreter, Personal comes direct to UnWrapped from its Melbourne premiere.

Artist and Sector Development will also focus on sector support via professional development opportunities and capacity building through mentorship and training. These initiatives include:

• Annual Digital Mentoring Program: three Sydney-based contemporary performance artists - Cat Jones, Tom Hogan and Victoria Hunt - will, over the coming months, create a piece of digital content with expert guidance and support from Sydney Opera House's production and marketing teams. The inaugural mentees will have access to the Opera House's world-class Recording and Broadcast Studio and specialised professional development
• Masterclasses and talks events offering local arts practitioners access to high-quality professional development with visiting national and International Artists and arts companies. As part of her residency in May, Jodee Mundy will lead a talk on access and inclusion in the arts
• Industry Insiders: a free, three-year membership for Australian performing artists and arts professionals, providing access to special industry offers, discounts to select performances, and exclusive invitations to talks and artist masterclasses.

Sydney Opera House Program Producer, Katy Green Loughrey, says: "The Digital Mentoring Program responds to the growing movement of arts audiences to the digital space and acknowledges the challenges faced by independent practitioners in this arena. The artists selected are experienced practitioners but come with a thirst to take their work to the next level. This program seeks to diversify their skills and practice and share their artistic work to broader audiences, unconstrained by where and when."

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