Olivia Laing: The Body Free and Powerful
Hosted by Jessie Tu
Do you know how it feels to be free?
The body is the arena where power and politicised control play out. Join Olivia Laing as she examines how bodies encounter oppression and resistance, and reshape the world.
This is a live in-theatre event. The host, Jessie Tu, will appear in person. Olivia Laing will appear via videolink from her home in Suffolk.
Live in-person event | Studio | Also available on Stream | Talks & Ideas
COVID-19 safety information
The health and wellbeing of everyone attending the Opera House is our top priority. We’re committed to making your experience safe, comfortable and enjoyable, with a number of measures in place including regular cleaning of high-touch areas, air conditioning systems that maximise ventilation, and hand sanitiser stations positioned in all paths of travel. We encourage you to wear a mask in indoor settings or when physical distancing can’t be maintained, and please stay home if you feel unwell. If you need to discuss your ticketing or booking options, contact our Box Office team on 02 9250 7777.
Pre-sale and on-sale information
Multipacks
Insider Member Priority – 9am, Tuesday 28 June
Single Tickets
Insider Member Priority – 9am, Tuesday 28 June
What's on Priority sale – 9am, Wednesday 29 June
General public on sale – 9am, Friday 1 July
Sunday 11 September 2022, 5pm
Session runs from 5pm - 6pm
Standard tickets from $33 | $8.50 Booking Fee applies per transaction Save up to 15% with a festival Multipack | Livestream tickets from $15
| Ticket | Unreserved Seating |
|---|---|
| Standard |
$33 |
| Insider (Save 20% on this performance) | $26.40 |
| Multipack Buy 3 - 4 events and save 10% | $29.70 |
| Multipack Buy 5+ events and save 15% | $28.05 |
| Livestream | $15 |
| Livestream festival pass | $55 |
| Babes in arms | $10 |
Prices correct at the time of publication and subject to change without notice. Exact prices will be displayed with seat selection. Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times
The authorised ticket agency for this event is Sydney Opera House and Vimeo. For more information about Authorised Agencies, see the FAQ below.
Enjoy a selection of talks online with a Festival Pass ($55), or purchase an individual livestream ($15). Purchase here.
This talk runs for approximately 60 minutes (no interval)
Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
In English | Auslan interpreted | Closed Captioned | Audio loop available & wheelchair accessible
Auslan interpretation service is provided for audiences who are deaf and use Australian Sign Language (Auslan). Experienced Auslan interpreters stand to the side of the stage and translate what the speakers are saying into Auslan. A block of seats is reserved for users of this service to ensure a good view of the interpreter and the stage. If you wish to book Auslan tickets and be seated in this area please call 02 9250 7777 or email bookings@sydneyoperahouse.com.
Captioned Performance: Captions are text descriptions that display the session's dialogue, identify speakers, and describe other relevant sounds that are otherwise inaccessible to people who are deaf or have hearing loss. Available to view on your mobile phone via a QR code which will be displayed on a sign outside the venue prior to entry.
Find out more about accessibility at Sydney Opera House.
Recommended for audiences aged 15+ Content warning: adult themes
Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times, and children under the age of 12 are not required to wear a mask.
“A brave writer whose books open up fundamental questions about life and art”
The Daily Telegraph
One of the world's brightest writers investigates bodily freedom
The body can experience pleasure and pain. It can be vulnerable to disease, exposed to hatred and to forces that dominate. Yet it’s also a source of power. It is the agent of our resistance and continuing fight for freedoms – civil rights, gay rights, feminism, the right to choose and the defence of integrity. British essayist, art critic and journalist Olivia Laing's latest book, Everybody, draws from the lives of Nina Simone, Andrea Dworkin and Malcolm X to explore the body and its discontents.
In a time when bodily autonomy is challenged around the world, she joins us via video for an insightful investigation of culture and politics. Don't miss this chance to re-discover the body as a source of power and ultimately freedom.
Presented by Sydney Opera House
Speakers
Olivia Laing is a widely acclaimed writer and critic. She’s the author of six books, including To the River (2011), The Trip to Echo Spring (2013) and The Lonely City (2016). She’s a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and in 2018 was awarded the Windham-Campbell Prize for non-fiction. Her books have been translated into 19 languages.
Laing’s first novel, Crudo, is a real-time account of the turbulent summer of 2017. It was a Sunday Times top ten bestseller and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
Laing writes on art and culture for The Guardian, Financial Times and New York Times, among many other publications. She’s written catalogue essays on a variety of contemporary artists, including Andy Warhol, Agnes Martin, Derek Jarman, Wolfgang Tillmans and Chantal Joffe. Her collected essays on art, Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency, were published in 2020.
Her most recent book is Everybody: A Book About Freedom (2021). It’s an ambitious survey of the body and its discontents, using the renegade psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich to chart a daring course through the long struggle for bodily freedom.
Laing is currently working on a book about gardens and paradise. She’s non-binary and pronoun fluid.
Jessie Tu is a Book Critic & Opinions Writer for Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. She is an arts and culture critic for Limelight Magazine and has been a journalist and staff writer at Women’s Agenda since 2019, covering topics including culture, film and representation. Her bestselling debut novel, ’A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing’, won 2021 Best Literary Fiction at the Australian Book Industry Awards and was nominated for the 2021 Stella Prize.
Experience ANTIDOTE live on Stream
This year, Antidote will be livestreamed on Stream, Sydney Opera House's online streaming platform.
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Venue Information
Performances are being sold to 100% capacity in line with the NSW Public Health Order. This includes all shows in the Concert Hall, Joan Sutherland Theatre, Studio, Playhouse, Drama Theatre, Utzon Room and Forecourt. Please note that you will be seated directly alongside other ticketholders.
Our foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars. Please remember to maintain physical distancing whilst consuming drinks in our foyers.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer consistent with COVID-safe rules.
Transport options
- We encourage you to use private transport options to minimise crowding on public transport (in line with NSW Government advice).
- The Sydney Opera House Car Park, operated by Wilson Parking, is open and available to use. Wilson Parking offer discounted parking if you book ahead. Please see their website for details.
- Please check the Transport NSW website for the latest advice and information on travel and COVID-19 safety measures. You can catch public transport (bus, train, ferry) to Circular Quay and enjoy a 6 min walk to the Opera House.
What safety measures have you implemented?
Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of everyone on site, and we are closely following NSW Health guidelines and advice. The Sydney Opera House is registered as a COVID Safe business with the NSW Government. For detailed information about our COVID-19 safety measures and what’s required of you when visiting, please see our plan your visit page.
What am I required to do as an audience member?
Face masks are strongly recommended for all patrons while inside our theatres and foyers, including during the performance. Please bring your own mask.
As you move around the Opera House, practise physical distancing (1.5 metres whenever possible) and follow the guidance provided by our staff and signage.
Within venues, always take your allocated seat.
For detailed information about our COVID-19 safety measures and what’s required of you, please see our plan your visit page.
Do I need to be vaccinated to visit the Sydney Opera House?
The Sydney Opera House no longer requires patrons to show that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Am I required to wear a mask?
Face masks are strongly recommended for all patrons while inside our theatres and foyers, including during the performance. Please bring your own mask.
How are you managing contact tracing?
Contact information is required when making a booking with us and upon arrival at the Opera House, as set out in our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Attendance at Events and our Customer Privacy Statement.
As the ticket purchaser, you are responsible for recording the contact details of your guests. Contact information will only be used for the purposes of contact tracing, if required, and will be deleted at least 28 days after your event.
What time do I need to arrive before the event?
Ticket purchases and collection at our Box Office is discouraged and eTicket or postal delivery methods should be used, wherever possible. However, if you are collecting your tickets from the Box Office, we recommend doing this at least 60 minutes before the event starts. If you have already received your tickets, the venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Please take your seats as soon as you arrive.
If you are late, we will seat you as soon as we can and, where possible, in your allocated seat. However, to reduce movement in the venue as well as minimise disruption to the performance and other patrons, ticketholders may be seated in an allocated latecomer’s seat. Please be aware that some events have lock-out periods. In these cases, latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance. On occasions, this may not be until the interval, or at all where there is no interval.
Details of our right to refuse admission can be found in our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Events.
Will there be bag checks, and is cloaking available?
In accordance with our venue security procedures, Opera House security will be scanning and checking bags under the Monumental Stairs, prior to entering the building. Bags will be scanned by an x-ray machine, and staff will wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling your belongings, such as gloves. Cloaking facilities will be open 60 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 60 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. However it is strongly encouraged that you travel lightly to minimise contact and queuing. Any bags larger than an A4 piece of paper will need to be checked into the Cloak Room.
What safety measures do you have in place?
The health and wellbeing of everyone attending the Opera House is our top priority. We have a number of safety measures in place including regular cleaning of high-touch areas, air conditioning systems that maximise ventilation, and hand sanitiser stations positioned in all paths of travel. We encourage visitors to wear a face mask in indoor settings or when physical distancing can’t be maintained. Please stay home if you feel unwell and read more about our flexible ticket options here.
Does my child need to wear a face mask?
Children under the age of 12 are not required to wear a face mask.
Who are the authorised ticket sellers for this event?
The authorised agency for this event is the Sydney Opera House.
Only tickets purchased by authorised agencies should be considered reliable. If you purchase tickets from a non-authorised agency such as Ticketmaster Resale, Viagogo, Ticketbis, eBay, Gumtree, Tickets Australia or any other unauthorised seller, you risk that these tickets are fake, void or have previously been cancelled. RESALE RESTRICTION APPLIES. For more details, please refer to our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Attendance at Events.
What if I can't come to my performance?
Please contact Box Office on 9250 7777 as soon as possible to advise if you can no longer attend. If you can no longer attend because you are unwell, or have been in contact with someone displaying COVID-19 symptoms, the Opera House has introduced flexible ticketing options to help you, find out more information here.
Will there be food and beverages available for purchase in the venue?
Foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.
The venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances.
Please bring a credit or debit card for any on site purchases to enable contactless payment. You’re welcome to bring your own water bottle but no other food and drinks are permitted inside our venues. Opera Bar, Opera Kitchen and Portside are also available for you to enjoy.
Will there be pram parking at kids performances?
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to the foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres consistent with COVID-safe rules.
Can my baby sit on my lap?
Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times. Babies aged 0-2 years old at the time of a performance may be seated on an adult’s lap. Children 2 years and older will need to hold a standard ticket.
Can I smoke at the Opera House?
- The health, safety and wellbeing of everyone at the Sydney Opera House is our top priority. In line with this commitment, the Opera House will become a smoke-free site from Saturday 1 January 2022.
- By becoming a smoke-free site, the Opera House seeks to reduce exposure to harmful second-hand smoke, as well as minimise the impact of smoking on the environment, including litter and pollution of the surrounding marine environment.