Class Act
28 – 31 August 2024
In the Studio
Theatre
In Class Act, working class unfortunate Mish Grigor tells the story of a grotesque world of class and social mobility straight from her dirty mouth. Created by Melbourne based, experimental art organisation, APHIDS, this work addresses the unspoken rifts of the class system through a bombastic, unexpected deconstruction of My Fair Lady, albeit with fewer bonnets.
| Date | Time |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 28 August 2024 | 7:00pm |
| Thursday 29 August 2024 | 7:00pm |
| Friday 30 August 2024 | 7:00pm |
| Saturday 31 August 2024 | 7:00pm |
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| High Tea Table Seating (18+) Find out more. High tea food and beverage contains gluten, dairy, eggs, sulphites, fish and meat products. May contain tree nuts, peanuts, lupin, sesame, soy and shellfish. Not suitable for those with allergies or dietary requirements. No alternate menus available. | $45 |
| Standard | $45 |
| Concession* Australian Senior, Australian Pensioner, Domestic Students, Children Under 18 | $30 |
*Must provide valid ID
$8.95 booking fee applies per transaction
Prices correct at the time of publication and subject to change without notice. Exact prices will be displayed with seat selection.
Young people under the age of 15 must be accompanied at all times. Children aged 0 - 23 months at the time of a performance may be seated on a parent’s lap free of charge. All children occupying a seat or aged two years and older must hold a valid ticket.
The only authorised ticket agency for this event is Sydney Opera House. For more information about Authorised Agencies, see the frequently asked questions below.
General Public tickets on-sale
9am, Wednesday 27 March 2024
In English
Wheelchair accessible
Find out more about accessibility at Sydney Opera House
Run time
The duration of this event is 65 minutes, without interval
Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
Age
Recommended 16+
Young people under the age of 15 must be accompanied at all times. Children aged 0 - 23 months at the time of a performance may be seated on a parent’s lap free of charge. All children occupying a seat or aged two years and older must hold a valid ticket.
Content Warnings
Performance contains smoke & haze, partial nudity, strong language, drug references and adult themes.
Useful information:
“You’re going to make me posh”
Directed by Zoey Dawson, the performance shines a light on the unseen cost of a social glow up and navigating the entrenched poverty of an artistic career. “This deconstruction puts that great Australian unmentionable – class – front and centre,” The Age.
A satirical and almost ‘boganised’ retelling of My Fair Lady, Grigor also skillfully weaves humorous personal experiences from her childhood throughout. Grigor shares “I grew up in Western Sydney, in a working class or underclass area that is looked down upon in the landscape of Sydney.” Echoes from the past blend humiliation and hilarity, highlighting the subtle nuances of the Australian class system. Depictions of Eliza’s transformation are told through obsessive prisms of children’s games and skipping rhymes, while the ballroom scene devolves into cringeworthy memories of getting dolled up for a school formal.
Joined on stage by dancer Alice Dixon (and some experimentally arranged orchids), she breathes life into the power plays in My Fair Lady, while the choreography skillfully finds a way to summon nuances of class psychology.
For the bourgeoisie, there will be high tea. The High Tea seats are up close and personal - and limited to 12 people each evening. These tickets include unconventional hors d’oeuvres and sparkling wine upon arrival. Make sure to arrive early to settle in before the great unwashed (just try not to look too smarmy when you do, it’s unbecoming).
Sydney Opera House and APHIDS present
The AgeA sort of boganised fever-dream that staggers between metatheatrical stand-up and subversive clowning, with sharp intrusions of physical theatre and contemporary dance thrown in
Artist Information
APHIDS is an artist-led experimental art organisation based in Naarm/Melbourne. Collaborative, risk-taking and future focused, APHIDS is led by Lara Thoms and Mish Grigor. APHIDS makes experimental work across artforms and contexts: in public space, festivals, digital platforms, across visual and performing arts, major institutions and beyond. They have been presented in every state and territory in Australia, from the Malthouse Theatre to the Art Gallery of SA. We have engaged audiences in samurai hotels in Japan, churches in Finland, community halls in regional towns, drive-ins and even beamed art into outer space.
Mish is a performance maker, writer and performer. Working across a range of collaborative formats, she is co-director of APHIDS with Lara Thoms, and one third of POST with Zoe Coombs Marr and Natalie Rose.
In 2024 Mish co-created and performed in The First Bad Man, A Book Club Based on the Novel by Miranda July at the Lincoln Center (NYC) for Under The Radar Festival after developing it at the National Theatre (UK) Studio Program . Previously, Mish has presented her work or been commissioned by Sydney Opera House, Malthouse Theatre, Sydney Festival, The Substation, Belvoir St Theatre, Art Gallery of South Australia/Adelaide Biennial, Artshouse, Sydney Theatre Company, Performance Space, Brisbane Powerhouse, Darwin Festival, Brisbane Festival, PICA, Hong Kong Rep Theatre/West Kowloon Cultural District, Noorderzon Festival (Netherlands), Battersea Arts Centre (UK), with Pan Pan Theatre (Ireland), Reckless Sleepers (Belgium) and Forest Fringe, Taipei Performing Arts Centre, and La Mama (New York) amongst others.
Lead Artist / Performer
Mish Grigor
Performer
Alice Dixon
Designer / Dramaturg
Lara Thoms
Director / Script Dramaturg
Zoe Dawson
Lighting Designer
Jen Hector
Sound Designer
Nina Buchanan
Production Manager
Reuben Cumming
Consultant Producer
Freya Waterson
Company co-ordinator
Dani Reynolds
Premiere season producer
Anna Nalpantidis
Something a little bit fancy?
For the bourgeoisie, there will be high tea. The High Tea seats are up close and personal - and limited to 12 people each evening. These tickets include unconventional hors d’oeuvres* and sparkling wine** upon arrival. Make sure to arrive early to settle in before the great unwashed (just try not to look too smarmy when you do, it’s unbecoming).
*High tea food and beverage contains gluten, dairy, eggs, sulphites, fish and meat products. May contain tree nuts, peanuts, lupin, sesame, soy and shellfish. Not suitable for those with allergies or dietary requirements. No alternate menus available
** Ticketholders must be 18+
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Plan your visit
Venue information
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.
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.
Getting here
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 the Wilson Parking website for details.
Please check the Transport NSW website for the latest advice and information on travel. You can catch public transport (bus, train, ferry) to Circular Quay and enjoy a six minute walk to the Opera House.
Frequently asked questions
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 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.
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.
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.
Please contact Box Office on 9250 7777 as soon as possible to advise if you can no longer attend.
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.
The health, safety and wellbeing of everyone at the Sydney Opera House is our top priority. In line with this commitment, the Opera House became a smoke-free site in January 2022. Read our Smoke-free Environment Policy.
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