WHAT'S ON Here’s our roundup of the best gigs to see during the Sydney Festival
BY: Kartya Vucetic
It’s officially time to put your 2024 hangover to bed. There, I said it. And while it may be tempting to wallow in your own pity party for the deleting of your OOO emails and return of f2f meetings, there’s a lot to look forward to this month of January.
Let me catch you up to speed. This month, the Sydney Festival officially returns to keep the silly season alive and kicking. It’s playing host to over 130 performances, both free and ticketed, across all of Greater Sydney. In other words, consider this your sign to get some culcha into ya.
And while the program might be somewhat overwhelming, fret not. Because we’ve rounded up the best ones to lock in for. From Greek tragedy adaptations to star-lit symphonies, here are the best gigs to go and check out during the Sydney Festival.
Siegfried & Roy: The Unauthorised Opera
Image: Sydney Theatre Company
A new light is shone on the German-American magician duo, Siegfried & Roy, in this Sydney Theatre Company world premiere. The exotic animal entertainers, who to this day remain the highest paid magicians in Las Vegas, were perhaps best known for their unstoppable rise to fame, and subsequent tragic mauling by their beloved tiger, Mantacore. Coined a tale of “fame, fortune and danger”, expect larger-than-life characters, live magic and some seriously funny takes on a true tale.
- WHEN: Wednesday 8 to Saturday 25 January
- WHERE: Wharf 1, Sydney Theatre Company
- HOW MUCH: Tickets from $49
- CHECK IT OUT HERE.
Dark Noon
Image: Playbill
Director Tue Biering and co-director Nhlanhla Mahlangu re-imagine America’s history of the Wild West through an entirely outsiders perspective in this limited-season show. Led by a cast of South African actors, Wild West flips the script on longstanding Hollywood tropes of the American frontier. Absurd, horrifying and deeply profound, expect an intensely raw and satirical journey through a pretty heavy time in history.
- WHEN: Thursday 9 to Thursday 23 January
- WHERE: Sydney Town Hall
- HOW MUCH: Tickets from $89
- CHECK IT OUT HERE.
Animal by Cirque Alfonse
Image: Cirque Alfonse
Dinner and a show just got a whole lot more exciting thanks to Animal by Quebec-founded Cirque Alfonse. The world-class circus spins childhood memories and rural cliches into a surreal circus experience. We’ve also been promised an ‘agricultural funk’ soundtrack, and we’d be lying if we weren’t equal parts confused and intruiged. This will be the circus’ third trip to Australia for the Sydney Festival, so clearly they’re doing something right.
- WHEN: Friday 3 to Sunday 12 January
- WHERE: Riverside Theatres, Parramatta
- HOW MUCH: Tickets from $49
- CHECK IT OUT HERE.
The Chronicles
Image: stephanielake.com.au
Resident Choreographer of The Australian Ballet, Stephanie Lake, leads an explosive and sensual dance at Roslyn Packer Theatre for this season’s festival. The Chronicles showcases twelve dancers who trace the cycle of life and inevitability of change, all backed to the electro-acoustic score of Robin Fox. After extraordinary successes at the Sydney Festival in 2020 and 2023, expect this to be quite the show.
- WHEN: Thursday 16 to Sunday 19 January
- WHERE: Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay Arts Precinct
- HOW MUCH: Tickets from $69
- CHECK IT OUT HERE.
Antigone in the Amazon
Image: Sydney Festival
Sophocles’ 5th-century BCE renowned Greek tragedy is re-imagined into a 21st-century Amazonian adaptation, thanks to Swiss theatre-maker Milo Rau. The play will mark his third performance in his ancient mythology trilogy, and explores the threat to humanity when one exploits the land and its people. Indigenous people, activists from Brazil’s Landless Workers Movement (MST) and European actors come together for a showcase that we anticipate to be profound, terrifying and overwhelming.
- WHEN: Saturday 4 to Wednesday 8 January
- WHERE: Roslyn Packer Theatre, Walsh Bay Arts Precinct
- HOW MUCH: From $69
- CHECK IT OUT HERE.
Sydney Symphony Under the Stars
Image: Secret Symphony
Lucky for you, we’ve saved the best for last. On Saturday 18 January, Parramatta Park will play host to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for a free concert under the stars. Tchaikovsky’s greatest symphonies will be performed by some of the country’s most talented musicians. Of course, it wouldn’t be a showstopper without a fireworks finale, too. All you need to do is BYO picnic blanket.
- WHEN: Saturday 18 January
- WHERE: The Crescent, Parramatta Park
- HOW MUCH: Free
- CHECK IT OUT HERE.
