Summer in Sydney will soar to new heights, as Sydney Festival returns for another year.
The almost month-long International arts event is an opportunity to rediscover the city differently – from Sydney Town Hall’s conversion into a Wild West pioneer town, to a salacious true crime tale staged in the docks of Darlinghurst Courthouse.
Audiences can expect world premiere productions, Australian exclusives, and immersive experiences reflecting the city’s identity.
“Sydney Festival has long held summer’s cultural pulse and this year is quite the heartbeat,” Festival Director Olivia Ansell says of her fourth and final line-up.
“Stories of Oceania, destiny and what we leave behind through to bold explorations of utopia and dystopia, Sydney Festival 2025 promises an exhilarating and thought-provoking journey through the arts with exceptional talent at the reins. This January, immerse yourself in a summer of unforgettable performances, groundbreaking new works, and exclusive experiences that reimagine the world around us.”
“This year’s edition puts First Nations artists at the forefront and brings new international works to Australia to ignite and inspire audiences,” The Hon. John Graham, Minister For The Arts says. “I encourage everyone to hunt through the programme, attend and see what Sydney Festival 2025 has to offer.”
Sydney Festival 2025 features more than 130 shows and events including 22 world premieres, 24 Australian exclusives, 43 locations, and more than 50 free events inclusive of more than 12 nights of free music.
'Tina – A Tropical Love Story' – Image © Jamie James
The blurry edges of utopian idealism and dystopian despair are writ large in the likes of ‘Dark Noon’, and Cliff Cardinal’s subversive update of ‘As You Like It Or The Land Acknowledgement’.
There’s a transformative installation from the 2025 Visual Artist In Residence Telly Tuita, and Cave Urban presents What We Leave Behind, a totem of festival-goers’ hopes for the future.
The First Nations-led Blak Out programme, curated by Creative Artist In Residence Jacob Nash, introduces a new gathering space and expanded festival footprint, with three weekends of conversations and events celebrating the coming together of people, country, spirit and truth.
‘A Model Murder’ at Darlinghurst Courthouse is a sensational 20th century murder trial, inspired by one of Sydney’s most titillating scandals, from Playwright Melanie Tait and Co-Writer/Director Sheridan Harbridge.
Award-winning Swiss director Milo Rau ends his trilogy of political works, with ‘Antigone In The Amazon’ – where a group of Brazilian and European actors and musicians portray the environmental endgame unfolding at the edge of the Amazon rainforest in Para, Brazil.
What We Leave Behind
Canadian First Nations cultural provocateur Cliff Cardinal presents an Australian exclusive with ‘As You Like It Or The Land Acknowledgement’. It’s Shakespeare like no other, affording audiences a devastating, yet laugh-out-loud, examination of land acknowledgements as cultural and political practice.
Then there’s a world premiere: Constantine Costi and Luke Di Somma’s brand-new Australian opera ‘Siegfried & Roy: The Unauthorised Opera’: a modern stage spectacle inspired by Las Vegas’ most famous, legendary duo.
Audiences can expect plenty of theatre, opera and cabaret of course – Back To Back Theatre will return with the must-see ‘Multiple Bad Things’ where Sydney Opera House will transform into a toneless warehouse at the end of the world. . . ‘The Tamilization Of Ahilan Ratnamohan’ is a personal story of reminiscence, loss and language fascination from Ahilan Ratnamohan. . . ‘Tina – A Tropical Love Story’ blends storytelling, cabaret and drag from First Nations drag performer Miss Ellaneous. . . And Rainbow Chan draws on her Weitou ancestry in ‘The Bridal Lament 哭嫁歌’, reimagining a ritual known as the bridal lament.
Dance, immersive experiences, music luminaries, circus, family and community programming and visual arts run rampant throughout the Sydney Festival programme as well.
Check out the full programme.
Sydney Festival 2025 takes place from 4-26 January.
