★★★★★ LIMELIGHT
"An enormous triumph...
“A milestone for Australian opera, and may also prove a landmark for the genre of Chamber Opera”
★★★★½ STAGENOISE
“Rare and sought after…Antarctica is an achievement of extraordinary beauty”
★★★★ TIME OUT
“Go with open ears, and leave with an astonishing new vision of what contemporary Australian opera can achieve”
Antartica by Mary Finsterer/Libretto by Tom Wright for Sydney Chamber Opera/Asko|Schönberg/Holland & Sydney Festival
Conductor; Jack Symonds
Set & Costume Design; Elizabeth Gadsby
Video Artist; Mike Daly
Lighting Design; Alexander Berlage
Photography; Wendell Teodoro
★★★★½ Sydney Morning Herald
“This beautifully curated production from one of Australia’s most innovative arts groups lingers in the mind like the 20th century’s haunting ruins”
“Sydney Chamber Opera’s new show is a riveting 90 minutes of exciting and at times challenging music and stunning imagery” Daily Telegraph
Benjamin Britten and Luke Styles for Sydney Chamber Opera/Carriageworks
Conductor; Jack Symonds
Video Artist; Mike Daly
Set & Costume Design; Elizabeth Gadsby
Lighting Design; Alexander Berlage
★★★★½ SMH
“glowing pristine beauty and transcendent iridescence”
★★★★ TIME OUT
“bold, uncompromising and musically spectacular”
La Passion de Simone is a collaboration with the Sydney Chamber Opera and Sydney Festival and serves as a meditation on the life of French philosopher, political activist and mystic Simone Weil.
Throughout her life Weil had a profound empathy and sought to endure pain and hardship in order to better understand the suffering of others. At the age of 34 she starved herself to death in solidarity with the victims of World War II.
The video work takes form as an evolving visual gesture - the enduring image of rice falling. It's an image that embodies a multitude of narratives and meanings, from her endurance of suffering as a means to knowledge and transcendence, to her metaphysical philosophies of gravity and grace.
"All the natural movements of the soul are controlled by laws analogous to those of physical gravity. Grace is the only exception." Simone Weil
To create the work's principal image, soprano Jane Sheldon endured three tonnes of rice being dropped on her for over half an hour. The final 4K projected image was massive, at over 20 meters wide and 10 meters high.
Conductor; Jack Symonds
Set & Costume Design; Elizabeth Gadsby
Lighting Design; Alexander Berlage
Video Artist; Mike Daly
Performer; Jane Sheldon
★★★★½ SMH
“Savage outshines Shaw in bold new adaptation”
★★★★ TIME OUT
“Savage-an incisive, keen-eyed director…draws lines of theatrical tension with razor-sharp focus”
★★★★ DAILY REVIEW
"Sarah Snook gives a fiercely intelligent performance...an indelible moment of theatre you won’t easily forget".
Sydney Theatre Company Roslyn Packer Theatre
Design; David Fleischer
Costume; Renee Mulder
Lighting; Nick Schlieper
Composition; Max Lyandvert
Additional text by Emme Hoy
Photography; Brett Boardman
“The ride is …extreme, confronting, hilarious, outrageous, thrilling and shocking” THE ADVERTISER
“Funny, ferocious and closely observed” THE AUSTRALIAN
Dance Nation by Clare Barron
Belvoir/State Theatre Company South Aust/Adelaide Festival
Design; Jonathan Oxlade
Choreography; Larissa McGowan
Lighting; Alexander Berlage
Composition; Luke Smiles
Sound Design; Andrew Howard
Photography; Chris Herzfeld
★★★★★ GUARDIAN
“Director Imara Savage, one of the sharpest talents on Australian stages, has created a production that crackles and burns”
★★★★★ DAILY REVIEW
“The most unusual, intelligent and original to premiere on a Sydney stage this year”
Design; Jonathon Oxlade
Musical Director; Carol Young
Choreographer; Lucas Jervies
Lighting; Chris Petridis
Sound; Jed Silver
Photographer; Daniel Boud and Brett Boardman
★★★★★ TIME OUT
"Savage’s work here is exceptional – her keen eye and sixth-sense for interior momentum are enough to make her one of Australia’s greatest working directors...a masterpiece production."
★★★★½ LIMELIGHT
"A dazzling production...a punch to the solar plexus, a shredding of the heart, devastatingly brilliant theatre."
Sydney Theatre Company, Drama Theatre Opera House
Top Girls By Caryl Churchill
Design; David Fleischer
Costume; Renee Mulder
Lighting; Damien Cooper
Composition; Max Lyandvert
Photographer; Brett Boardman
"Savage has nipped and tucked Treadwell’s play in a fierce light sabre cutting though a fairly dark view of social conditioning" Australian Stage
"A brave and powerful proto-feminist work" Daily Review
"Imara Savage's harrowing production includes a brilliant performance by Harriet Dyer " The Australian
"The effect is akin to watching a contemporary chamber opera" Sydney Morning Herald
Machinal by Sophie Treadwell for Sydney Theatre Company
Design; David Fleischer
Lighting; Verity Hampson
Composition; Steve Francis
Photographer; Brett Boardman
"As good as theatre gets... Were Brecht and Weil resurrected, they would harass and engage and uplift us no more surely than this company and this director...(already as good as Peter Brook) Imara Savage. Rarely have I been so dumbstruck and purged in musical theatre" - Bob Ellis, Table Talk
Woyzeck by Georg Buchner for NIDA
Musical adaptation by Tom Waits and Robert Wilson
Design; Elizabeth Gadsby and Hugh O'Connor
Lighting; Joshua Vozzo
Photography; Lisa-Maree Williams
“An exhilarating new production of Hay Fever, which director Imara Savage gives an intense, sexy energy” The Australian
“Savage’s production brings Coward dynamically and uproariously into the twenty-first century” Stage Whispers
“A magnificent expression of Noël Coward's comic genius” Broadway World
Hayfever by Noel Coward for Sydney Theatre Company, Drama Theatre Sydney Opera House
Design; Alicia Clements
Lighting; Trent Suidgeest
Composition; Max Lyandvert
Photographer; Lisa Tomasetti
“The best revival of the year was After Dinner, expertly realised by director Imara Savage, her STC team, and a formidably funny ensemble cast" Sydney Morning Herald
"Rarely do you see theatre this laugh-aloud funny, so do get in and enjoy it" The Daily Telegraph
“This production is as down-to-earth and broadly crowd-pleasing as it is sophisticated and is superbly crafted with subtlety and nuance. You’re bound to love it” Daily Review
After Dinner by Andrew Bovell for Sydney Theatre Company
Design; Alicia Clements
Lighting; Verity Hampson
Photography; Brett Boardman
“A work of beauty and meaning” The Sydney Morning Herald
“An impressive achievement” The Australian
“An unqualified triumph” Limelight
“Masterful” The Conversation
“Uncompromising vision” TimeOut
“A triumph for contemporary opera” Partial Durations
“Changing how we see opera” Concrete Playground
FLY AWAY PETER Sydney Chamber Opera/ Carriageworks and Melbourne Festival 2015 by Elliot Gyger in a libretto by Pierce Wilcox (adapted from David Malouf’s novel)
Conductor; Jack Symonds
Design; Elizabeth Gadsby
Lighting; Verity Hampson
Photographer; Zan Wimberley
“A compelling and tautly structured dramatic statement” Sydney Morning Herald
“Potent, intimate music drama” Limelight
“A perfect marriage of form and content, and about as good as a night at the opera gets" Time Out
Owen Wingrave; Benjamin Britten
Conductor; Jack Symonds for Sydney Chamber Opera
Design; Katren Wood
Lighting; Ross Graham
Photography; Louis Dillon-Savage
“Yet another phenomenal success for the relatively new, edgy and vibrant Sydney Chamber Opera. Long may they flourish” Opera Insider
“As gripping as it is haunting” Aussie Theatre
Conductor; Huw Belling
Set & Costume Design; Michael Hankin
Lighting; Verity Hampson
"...a gripping 75-minute drama" Sydney Morning Herald
"...had me both laughing out loud and on the verge of tears...Please live large and see it" Time Out
"The Brothers Size is a powerful feat of physicality and emotionality" Concrete Playground
"...sheer brilliance..." What's On Sydney
By Tarrell Alvin McCraney for Griffin Independent
Design; David Fleischer
Lighting; Verity Hampson
Music; Miriam Lieberman
Photography; Giselle Haber
“Imara Savage has crafted a close quarters, pressure cooker production, continually probing both Shepard’s sparse, intense dialogue and the moments between” Stage Whispers
“Imara Savage directs a powerful revival” Sydney Arts Guide
Downstairs Belvoir
Design; Michael Hankin
Lighting; Verity Hampson
Composition; Caitlyn Porter
Video design; Mike Daly
