Gift your loved ones with an unforgettable experience this Chrissie – there are Sydney Festival shows for every taste and interest. Below, we’ve highlighted the perfect shows for everyone you know.
For fans of big ticket, blockbuster stage shows
Fresh off five star runs in New York, Edinburgh and Manchester, the brutally funny and provocative Dark Noon rewrites Wild West mythologies, confronting the intersections of power, race and displacement on the American frontier.
For dance fans, leading choreographer Stephanie Lake (Colossus, 2020; Manifesto 2023) brings her signature blend of explosive power and poetic introspection to The Chronicles, exploring the cycles of modern life with 12 dynamic dancers.
Cinderella (Cendrillon) is a sumptuous production of the classic fairy tale by Opera Australia, with something for both opera initiates and connoisseurs, including elaborate pop-up storybook staging and a score performed in English.
For the cabaret queens (and kings)
It’s hard to go past Miss Ellaneous’ (AKA Ben Graetz) big-hearted tribute to Darwin, drag and the Queen of Rock’n’roll, Tina – A Tropical Love Story, with guest performers from the First Nations and queer performance scenes.
Christie Whelan Browne (Show People, 2023) returns to the Festival with another soul-baring and pop-hit-packed cabaret extravaganza, delving into her angsty adolescence for Life in Plastic.
The stories of incredible Australian women – including Kate Miller-Heidke, Kate Ceberano, bestselling author Sarah Wilson, Les Girls legend Carlotta and media icon Ita Buttrose – are told through monologues and song by screen and stage star Rachael Beck for In Her Own Words.
To keep the kids entertained these summer holidays
Joyful installation Colour Maze, at Pier 2/3, invites children to get hands on with creativity and climb, bounce, decorate and weave their way through a kaleidoscopic 10 room maze decked out by “Tongpop” artist Telly Tuita. Recommended for ages two to 12.
A madcap musical about two childish world-leaders bickering, competing and having total emotional meltdowns, BullyBully will delight (and resonate) with young’uns aged three-plus.
Acclaimed Québécois company Cirque Alfonse bring their daring acrobatics and limber stunting to Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres and Sutherland’s Pavilion Performing Arts Centre, for surreal farm-themed circus extravaganza Animal.
Extreme sports come to the stage in Air Time, by Festival regulars Branch Nebula. Skateboarders, BMX riders, parkourists and dancers perform eye-popping street tricks in an anarchic, big air spectacle.
Date nights out for you and someone special
Find out why Emma Pask is a legend of the jazz scene when she reprises her ARIA-nominated 2015 Latin jazz album Cosita Divina with a 12-piece orchestra, delving into the lush rhythms of Brazilian, Cuban and Spanish song.
For the classical and chamber music lovers, Australian Chamber Orchestra traces the line from Haydn, Purcell and Bach to modern compositions in ACO Up Close: Legacies.
And not to be missed for fans of golden era soul and swoon-worthy vocals that draw worthy comparisons to Marvin Gaye, Daptone Records next superstar Jalen Ngonda is supported by local talent Emma Thompson, who brings a modern take on “1960s lowrider love songs”.
For the adventurous of spirit
Start someone’s day in the best way: saluting the sun in a Vinyasa Sunrise Yoga class hosted inside the Colour Maze at Pier 2/3, with a soundtrack of dreamy ambient beats – returning to the Festival after a limber 2024 debut.
Or gift a fun, vibey, no-pressure Street Dance Workshop led by choreographer and dancer Azzam Mohamed aka Shazam – and work on rhythm, isolation and footwork.
And for the even more daring, Sydney Trapeze School are bringing their high-flying aerial Trapeze and Circus Skills Workshops to Darling Harbour to teach you how to soar through the air, juggle and balance al fresco.
Even more for the live music lovers
Gig aficionados are spoilt for choice this year. Rising R&B and neo-soul star Yaya Bey makes her Australian debut at City Recital Hall, bringing the sultry vocal gymnastics that floored us in her NPR Tiny Desk Concert.
The ecstatic, multi-octave virtuosity of Jeff Buckley’s seminal debut album Grace is lovingly revitalised by homegrown diva Katie Noonan, to celebrate the album’s 30th anniversary.
The blistering, incisive post-punk of much-adored Melbourne band Cash Savage and The Last Drinks comes to City Recital Hall, with “the new matriarch of Australian rap”, BARKAA, in support.
And for the house and techno heads, two pioneers of Motor City dance music, Chez Damier and Alton Miller of formative 80s club Detroit Music Institute, bring their encyclopaedic knowledge of house, disco and techno to the Recital Hall to help you shake off the dust and work out the kinks.
And that’s a wrap. Explore all the events (and potential pressies) at Sydney Festival here.
