A colossal block of ice suspended above Sydney Harbour. On it, a woman alone. Isolated on this frozen world, the woman scrambles to protect it from the elements and the industrial crane that seems to toy with them both. How long will the iceberg last? How long before the system collapses? Her future hangs in the balance. Just like ours.

An embrace of epic scale and iconic location, THAW will stop you in your tracks. This visually arresting work marked a dramatic return to Sydney Festival for globally renowned local company, Legs On The Wall in 2022. Featuring a 2.7 tonne block of ice hoisted 20 metres above the Harbour and a score by Alaska’s Matthew Burtner, THAW is part art installation, part slow-drip suspense thriller.

Co-presented by Sydney Opera House and Sydney Festival
Originally broadcast 15 January 2022

Creatives
THE WOMAN Performed by, and developed with Victoria Hunt, Vicki Van Hout and Isabel Estrella
CREATOR, LEGS ON THE WALL ARTISTIC DIRECTOR [and 2nd CRANE OPERATOR] Joshua Thomson
COMPOSER Matthew Burtner (Alaska, Turtle Island/USA)
COSTUME DESIGNER Aleisa Jelbart
1st CRANE OPERATOR / HEAD PERFORMANCE RIGGER David Jackson
CREATIVE & EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Cecily Hardy
IMPACT PRODUCER Sophia Marinos
CONSULTING DRAMATURG Liesel Zink
PRODUCTION MANAGER Jason Thewell
ARTISTS IN DEVELOPMENT Lisa Fa’alafi, Gabrielle Nankivell, Leah Shelton, and Deborah Brown
COMPANY MANAGER James Beach
CRANE PARTNER Active Crane Hire
ENGINEER PARTNER Ironbridge Engineering

The world premiere of THAW was supported by Sydney Festival, the Australia Council for the Arts, and Sydney Opera House. The project was assisted by the Australian Government's Major Festivals Initiative, managed by the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body, in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals, Sydney Festival and Brisbane Festival.