A program full of independent artists, for spring? Groundbreaking. Seriously! The Sydney Opera House has rolled out the latest edition of UnWrapped, an ongoing series that invites a cavalcade of indie artists (and technologists) into the People’s House for a showcase of new and cutting-edge work. From a “boganised” reimagining of one of Audrey Hepburn’s most iconic roles to an experiment in AI-generated choreography, there are 14 works to choose from by more than 20 creators, including 11 new commissions. The season explores notions of identity, artistic ownership and concepts of time via multidisciplinary mediums spanning film, dance, performance, AI-generated choreography, music and installation.
In Class Act (Aug 28-31), comic and playwright Mish Grigor works with experimental art organisation APHIDS to present a tongue-in-cheek deconstruction of My Fair Lady from the point of view of a self-proclaimed bogan. Growing up in Western Sydney, Mish sets anecdotes from her childhood against a classic tale to examine the myth of a classless Australia in a multi-faceted piece of physical theatre that will resonate with anyone who has ever felt like an outsider.
Elsewhere, award-winning writer Mark Rogers has teamed up with the boundary-pushing re:group performance collective to present a raucous work of “gig theatre”. Told through the eyes of a teenage Silverchair fan who discovers he can auto-tune moments from his past, AUTO-TUNE (Sep 4–7) fuses theatre, music and video.
Presented across four purely ephemeral shows, Plagiary (Sep 12–14) utilises bespoke AI to deliver choreography to ten performers in real time. Contemporary dance technologist Alisdair McIndoe and acclaimed artist Sam Mcglip present a live performance experiment that champions the human body as one of the final sites untouched by Artificial Intelligence.
Experimental film buffs have a bounty to unpack here, as well. For starters, there’s Shortwave (Sep 8), a session of new short films from Australian interdisciplinary artists, exploring their relationship with the screen through themes of resistance, reclamation and renewal. Meanwhile, Tender (Sep 6-15) displays an anthology of four immersive documentaries across a 270-degree digital canvas in the House’s Western Foyers. Commissioned by the Sydney Opera House and presented in association with Curiousworks, each doco has been directed by emerging creatives from Western Sydney and examines and subverts stigma and stereotypes about the western ‘burbs. You can also suss out New Mountain (Sep 15), a multi-channel video work performed in real time, exploring our complex relationship with the environment, accompanied by a live soundtrack from Australian sound artists.
This series of UnWrapped has been co-curated by Sydney Opera House’s Head of Screen, Stuart Buchanan and former Director of Programming Fiona Winning. You can snap up tickets and explore further details of the season over here.
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