Sydney Opera House unveils latest UnWrapped line-up championing women’s voices creating genre-crossing work

Sydney — Wednesday 15 February 2023

The Sydney Opera House today unveiled its latest UnWrapped line-up, championing women artists creating bold contemporary work.

Co-curated by Sydney Opera House’s Director of Programming Fiona Winning and Head of First Nations Programming Beau James, the May series will feature the world premiere of multi-award-winning artist Andrée Greenwell’s chamber opera Three Marys, and beloved global First Nations collective Hot Brown Honey’s latest hip-hop, cabaret, dance extravaganza, THE REMIX.

Hot Brown Honey – THE REMIX (4 – 13 May) will unapologetically dance the line between theatrical masterpiece and social activism with joyous rage. Featuring a stellar party of phenomenal global First Nations women, the splendid mash-up of hip-hop, dance, cabaret, circus, poetry and comedy will spin tradition on its head, challenge boundaries and embrace resilience. Led by Lisa Fa’alafi and Busty (Kim Bowers) Beatz, Hot Brown Honey are the winners of multiple awards around the globe, including the Helpmann Award for Best Cabaret Performer (2017), Sydney Theatre Award for Best Production (2017), and many more.

Three Marys (11 – 13 May) an international collaboration by award-winning composer Andrée Greenwell and librettist Christine Evans, is a hauntingly beautiful chamber opera. Inspired by the medieval legend of the biblical Three Marys, it tells the powerful story of three women’s survival at sea in exile from their homeland. Woven through the trio’s tale is a Teen Chorus, representing the spirits of refugee children drowned at sea, and a fisherman, Marzoug, who cares for the bodies of migrants that wash up after storms. Andrée Greenwell is a multi-award-winning composer and artistic director of Green Room Music. She is a leading force in the creation of independent music theatre and multidisciplinary works in Australia. Based in the USA, Christine Evans is an internationally regarded Australian playwright and novelist.

Sydney Opera House Director of Programming and UnWrapped Co-curator, Fiona Winning said: “This May, I urge you to champion these immensely talented women creators and their powerful performance works. The world premiere of chamber opera Three Marys is an epic tale of exile, the ocean, and survival - a narrative that echoes through the ages. A Sydney Opera House supported presentation, it’s created by composer Andrée Greenwell and her brilliant collaborators Christine Evans, Angela Chaplin and Anna Tregloan for an intergenerational cast of performers.”

Sydney Opera House Head of First Nations Programming and UnWrapped Co-curator, Beau James said: “Make some noise for the global phenomenon, Hot Brown Honey, taking the world by storm. In the energised REMIX, the hive is expanding with new cast members, stories and genres. I’m enormously excited and proud to welcome back this formidable force of First Nations women, who will make you laugh, love and challenge everyday perceptions smashing stereotypes and giving you a night out you won’t forget. Strap yourselves in as we welcome them back after 8 years to the stage of the Sydney Opera House.”