Adena Jacobs is a theatre director and the Artistic Director of independent company Fraught Outfit. Her distinct body of work incorporates queer and feminist renderings of ancient texts, hallucinatory landscapes and rich sound scores, created in collaboration with her creative team and performers.
Directing credits include TITUS ANDRONICUS (Bell Shakespeare), THE HOWLING GIRLS (Sydney Chamber Opera), SALOME (ENO), WIZARD OF OZ (Belvoir), ANTIGONE (Malthouse), THE BACCHAE (Fraught Outfit/St Martins/MIAF) and PERSONA (Fraught Outfit).
In 2014/15 Adena was Resident Director at Belvoir, and in 2012 Female Director in Residence at Malthouse Theatre. In Australia, her work has been seen at Melbourne Festival, Carriageworks, Dark Mofo, Malthouse, Belvoir, Sydney Opera House, MTC, Theatre Works and La Mama. Internationally, she has directed for the English National Opera in London, and presented at Tokyo Festival. In 2022, her production of DIE TROERINNEN (TROJAN WOMEN) will premiere at the Burgtheatre in Vienna.
As a dramaturge, Adena has collaborated on THE DARK CHORUS (Lucy Guerin Inc/MIAF), RE-MAKE (Melanie Lane/Chunky Move), NEVERNEVERNEVERNEVER (Aaron Orzech/Arts House) and Kamila Andini’s THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN (Salihara, Jakarta/The Esplanade, Singapore/AsiaTOPA Festival, Melbourne).