It’s quite the sideways leap: from champion of new Australian theatre writing to director of an English baroque opera that saw that first saw the light in 1689.

For nearly a decade, Lucy Clements has been one of the prime movers in Sydney’s independent theatre scene. She founded New Ghosts Theatre Company in 2015, which has since produced well-received productions in Sydney ever since. She also created the IGNITE Collective in 2019, formed with the mission of putting new women-driven stories on Australian stages.

Last year, Clements was announced as the Artistic Director of the Old Fitzroy Theatre, one of the country’s most important crucibles of emerging theatre talent. Now, she’s directing Pinchgut Opera‘s upcoming production of Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas.

So, why the leap into a work more than 300 years old?

Lucy Clements (right) and Sara Macliver in rehearsal. Photo © Adam Grubner

“The whole reason I love doing new work is that I’m really passionate about the storytelling,” Clements tells Limelight. “I love to bring a new story to the stage and do it in a way that I believe tells that story in the best and...