Heather Fairbairn

Heather Fairbairn is a British-Australian stage director, working across both theatre and opera.

Heather has worked with companies including Sydney Theatre Company, Arcola Theatre, Schaubühne Berlin, Royal Opera House (Covent Garden), Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and La Boite Theatre Company. Her popular staging of Mozart’s THE MAGIC FLUTE is regularly revived in theatres around Europe, including Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel (Belgium), Grande Théâtre de la Ville (Luxembourg), Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon), and Escuela de Música Reina Sofía (Madrid).

Upcoming engagements include: Associate Director on ORPHEUS & EURYDICE (Opera Queensland); Director of THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR (Queensland Conservatorium, Brisbane); and, on-going engagement as Revival Director of Katie Mitchell’s ARIADNE AUF NAXOS (Finnish National Opera, Helsinki; and Royal Danish Opera, Copenhagen).

Previous directing credits include: SILK MOTH by Bushra El-Turk (Arcola Theatre, London); ARIADNE AUF NAXOS conducted by Simone Young (Queensland Conservatorium, Brisbane); 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 Theatre Company, Brisbane); LITTLE NEMO AND THE ICE CREAM WITCH (Bayerische Theaterakademie, Munich); THE RIVER by Jez Butterworth (National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney); ORPHANS by Dennis Kelly (Actors Centre Australia, Sydney); YOUNG ARTIST CONCERT (Opera Australia, Sydney); and, WINTEREISSE (National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney).

Heather regularly collaborates with renowned theatre director Katie Mitchell, working on ARIADNE AUF NAXOS (as Revival Director - Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris; and Festival d’Aix-en-Provence), ALCINA (Festival d’Aix-en-Provence), LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (Royal Opera House - Covent Garden), and OPHELIAS ZIMMER by Alice Birch (Royal Court Theatre & Schaubühne Berlin).

As associate director, revival director, and assistant director, other credits include: LORD OF THE FLIES directed by Kip Williams (Sydney Theatre Company), ACCIDENTAL DEATH OF AN ANARCHIST directed by Sarah Giles (Sydney Theatre Company), IL TROVATORE directed by David Bösch (Royal Opera House - Covent Garden), LA CENERENTOLA directed by Naomi Edwards (Opera Australia), and AS YOU LIKE IT directed by David Berthold (La Boite Theatre Company).

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. She regularly lectures on the NIDA post-graduate directing course.

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