Heather Fairbairn is a British-Australian director and dramaturg working at the intersection of theatre, opera, film, and video installation.

Heather regularly collaborates with playwrights, librettists, composers, and interdisciplinary artists on the development of new work, while also bringing a contemporary lens to existing classic material through radical adaptation.

Throughout Australia and Europe, Heather has collaborated with companies including Bell Shakespeare, Sydney Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, Schaubühne Berlin, Royal Opera House, Finnish National Opera, Royal Danish Opera, and Festival d’Aix-en-Provence.

As an arts leader, Heather is the Artistic Associate of NORPA (Northern Rivers Performing Arts Inc.). Previously, she held the positions of Associate Director: New Work with CIRCA, and Co-Artistic Director of experimental theatre collective The Hive Collective.

Originally from Nottinghamshire, Heather trained in classical voice, dance, and musical theatre in London before relocating to Australia with her partner, First Nations visual artist Anthony J. Walker.

CURRENT & FUTURE WORKS

In 2025, Heather will be creating a new cinematic opera production of KATYA KABANOVA for Victorian Opera, and revival directing THE BARBER OF SEVILLE for Opera Australia in Sydney and Melbourne.

PAST WORKS

Recent directing credits include: contemporary Australian opera BIOGRAPHICA by Mary Finsterer in a Green Room Award nominated production (Lyric Opera of Melbourne / Theatre Works); TWELFTH NIGHT for Bell Shakespeare, with music by Sarah Blasko (National Tour & Sydney Opera House); and, creative development of TIRRA LIRRA BY THE RIVER (rehearsed reading, Queensland Theatre).

In 2021 and 2022, Heather directed Arthur Miller’s adaptation of Ibsen’s AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE (Queensland Theatre); THE WOLVES by Sarah deLappe (QUT, Brisbane); THE NORMAN MAILER ANECDOTE by Anthony Mullins (Queensland Premier’s Drama Award, rehearsed reading, Queensland Theatre); THE ALCHEMIST & WOMEN BEWARE WOMEN (rehearsed readings, Bell Shakespeare); REVOLT. SHE SAID. REVOLT AGAIN. by Alice Birch (National Institute of Dramatic Art); and, Jada Alberts & Anne-Louise Sarks’ ELEKTRA/ORESTES (The Hive Collective / Metro Arts, Brisbane).

Previous directing credits include: SILK MOTH by Bushra El-Turk (Arcola Theatre, London); THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR and ARIADNE AUF NAXOS conducted by Simone Young (Queensland Conservatorium); SISTER MOURNS BROTHER (creative development, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon); THE RIVER’S SECRET (creative development, ENOA & Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon); multimedia theatre work THE MUTANT MAN by Christopher Bryant in a “stylish production” [The Stage] with “glimpses of visual genius in its staging” (The Space Arts Centre, London); SNAPPY OPERAS (Mahogany Opera Group, London); SUNNYTOWN (La Boite); LITTLE NEMO AND THE ICE CREAM WITCH (Bayerische Theaterakademie, Munich); THE RIVER by Jez Butterworth (National Institute of Dramatic Art); ORPHANS by Dennis Kelly (Actors Centre Australia); YOUNG ARTIST CONCERT (Opera Australia); and, WINTERREISE (National Institute of Dramatic Art).

Heather’s popular adaptation of Mozart’s THE MAGIC FLUTE has been revived in theatres and concert halls around Europe (Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, Belgium; Grande Théâtre de la Ville, Luxembourg; Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon; Escuela de Música Reina Sofía, Madrid).

COLLABORATIONS

Since 2015, Heather has regularly collaborated with Katie Mitchell, working on ARIADNE AUF NAXOS and ALCINA (Festival d’Aix), LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (Royal Opera House - Covent Garden), OPHELIAS ZIMMER by Alice Birch (Royal Court Theatre & Schaubühne Berlin) and ZAUBERLAND (Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord). In 2019 and 2020, Heather directed revivals of Katie Mitchell’s ARIADNE AUF NAXOS with new casts at Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, Finnish National Opera in Helsinki, and the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen.

Other associate directing credits include: IDOMENEO directed by Lindy Hume (Opera Australia); LORD OF THE FLIES directed by Kip Williams and ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST directed by Sarah Giles (Sydney Theatre Company); LE NOZZE DI FIGARO directed by Patrick Nolan and ORPHEUS & EURYDICE directed by Yaron Lifschitz (Opera Queensland / Opera Australia); IL TROVATORE directed by David Bösch (Royal Opera House - Covent Garden); LA CENERENTOLA directed by Naomi Edwards (Opera Australia); AS YOU LIKE IT directed by David Berthold and JOY, FEAR & POETRY directed by Natasha Budd (La Boite); and, 1984 directed by Michael Futcher (shake & stir/Queensland Performing Arts Centre).

During Heather’s tenure as Co-Artistic Director of The Hive Collective, she programmed and produced a season of works at Metro Arts including Jada Alberts & Anne-Louise Sarks’ ELEKTRA/ORESTES, Zoey Dawson’s CONVICTION (dir. Kate Wild), and Van Badham’s THE BULL, THE MOON, AND THE CORONET OF STARS (dir. Heidi Gledhill).

As Associate Director: New Work with CIRCA, Heather developed a suite of new works for the company including SHAUN THE SHEEP’S CIRCUS SHOW, HUMANS 2.0, SACRE, and CUBE STUDIES: SANTIAGO.

TRAINING

Heather holds a Master of Fine Arts (Directing) from the National Institute of Dramatic Art; a Bachelor of Creative Arts (Drama & Creative Writing) from the University of Queensland; and, a BTEC National Diploma in Performing Arts (Musical Theatre Performance) from the BRIT School for Performing Arts, London.

Heather is a Lecturer on the NIDA post-graduate directing course.

Heather is represented by Aurora Artists’ Management.
Agent: Justine Goss
+61 414 864 418
justine@auroraartists.com
www.auroraartists.com