The unique Aussie artists that should be on your radar UnWrapped is back this August and September with remarkable new works
Looking to discover the best independent artists that push the boundaries of culture, teeter on the edge of conventional and offer us a breath of fresh air?
Our ongoing series, UnWrapped, is just that. Handing over the stage to Australia's most groundbreaking artists, this series is a showcase of the finest original and eclectic performances.
This August and September sees UnWrapped expand into exciting new forms. Alongside theatre and dance productions, there will be a series of film screenings, including live music soundtracks and presentations in one of the Opera House’s most secret rooms.
Read on to learn more about the full program:
Class Act by APHIDS 28 – 31 Aug 2024
What to expect?
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.
For the bourgeoisie, you can also indulge yourself in 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).
You’ll like this if…
You’re a fan of Fleabag with a sprinkling of Muriel's Wedding.
AUTO-TUNE by re:group collective 4 – 7 Sep 2024
What to expect?
Set in Wagga Wagga in the early 2000s, this raucous work of ‘gig theatre’ follows Michael, a teenage Silverchair fan who discovers he has a strange superpower. In the same way Auto-Tune perfects pitch, Michael finds he can time-travel, auto-tuning his life to rid it of dumb statements, awkward pauses and cringe jokes. But when this music-mad weirdo makes the biggest mistake of his life, will his Auto-Tune superpower save him?
Told through an audiovisual set of fresh indie songs and live video captions, this innovative and genre-defying performance from the dynamic re:group performance collective feels like discovering your new favourite band on the side-stage of a music festival.
In a pitch-perfect world where algorithms seem to be the answer, AUTO-TUNE is a sixty-five minute romp into a messy, sweaty universe that proves otherwise.
You’ll like this if…
You’re a fan of Bo Burnham and the blending of music with comedy and theatre.
Plagiary by Alisdair Macindoe 12 – 14 Sep 2024
What to expect?
Plagiary is a dance performance experiment from Alisdair Macindoe that hands the role of choreography to artificial intelligence. A new show is improvised each night from scratch, as ten exceptional contemporary dancers become vessels for unpredictable directives, dictated by the voice of the AI. Acclaimed media artist Sam Mcgilp crafts new visual worlds of AI video to play alongside the dancers.
Exploring the collaboration between human and machine, the audience can either follow the AI prompts that direct the performance on screen or wear custom glasses to mask the text – the choice is yours.
You’ll like this is…
You’re a fan of live experiments that tiptoe the line of art and science.
New Mountain by Rachel Peachey and Paul Mosig 15 Sep 2024
What to expect?
New Mountain is a poetic three-channel live video work by Rachel Peachey and Paul Mosig, performed in real-time across four chapters, each in collaboration with some of Australia’s most accomplished sound artists.
The work considers our place in complex ecologies, through movement-based mediative practice and the exploration of various landscapes, amidst threads of deep time. A captivating live soundtrack from Gail Priest, Chris Caines, Benjamin Ward and Tilman Robinson shifts from deep atmospheric echoes of the cosmos, through haunting resonant reflections of the landscape, to the dense electrical chaos of the machine age.
You’ll like this if…
You love large-scale, live video work; electro-acoustic and contemporary classical music; or films about nature, science and environment.
Shortwave New Screen Commissions 8 Sep 2024
What to expect?
Shortwave is our commissioning program that invites interdisciplinary artists to explore their relationship with the screen. This playful and provocative screening will premiere six short film commissions that highlight interconnectedness across communities and generations, through themes of resistance, reclamation and renewal.
Shortwave’s 2024 program of new Australian voices include choreographer and dancer Trà Mi Dinh (Winner of 2022 Keir Choreographic Award); a collaboration between interdisciplinary artist and vocalist Maissa Alameddine and artist and academic Narjis Mirza; and a new work from Blak Social, an Indigenous arts company dreamed into existence by Kabi Kabi / Gubbi Gubbi and Wiradjuri artist and producer Alethea Beetson.
Commissioned artists also include Tahlia Palmer, an artist of Murri and mixed settler descent, working across music, sound art and video; Blue Mountains-based dancer and physical performer Em Yali; and Melbourne artists Harrison Hall and Mat Spisbah in collaboration with Taiwanese video performance artist Li Yi Fan.
You’ll like this if…
You love seeing performance on screen; or a fan of short film festivals like Flickerfest and St Kilda Film Festival.
Tender by CuriousWorks 6 - 15 Sep 2024
What to expect?
Presented in a unique immersive projection environment, Tender is a multi-channel film work from CuriousWorks. Tender reveals the nuances and tender sides of the communities of Western Sydney through four individual but interconnected documentary films by multidisciplinary artists: Mohammad Awad (3awadi), Carielyn Tunion, Diamond Tat, and Sharon Mani.
The four films in Tender will be screened for free in TIDE, a hidden space within the Opera House illuminated with captivating light projections. The 20-minute program will run on a loop across each evening.
You’ll like this if…
You’re a fan of art or performance documentaries and want to get an intimate, on-the-ground look at our city.