The city is set to sizzle when Sydney Festival fires up the summertime revelry with 25 days of events from January 5 to 29, 2023. With over 100 events to pick and choose from – 26 of which will be free – the second program from artistic director Olivia Ansell features 18 world premieres and 14 Australian exclusives.
But the name on everyone’s lips this year will surely be that of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The cavernous, subterranean hall of the Cutaway in Barangaroo will be saturated by the work, spirit and story of one of the 20th century’s most celebrated and influential artists. Frida Kahlo: Life of an Icon ($39-$49 plus booking fee) is a blockbuster coup for the festival and a Sydney exclusive. Co-created by the Frida Kahlo Foundation and Spanish digital arts company Layers of Reality, this multi-sensory experience incorporates 360-degree projections, live traditional Mexican music, captivating holography, and a virtual reality system that promises to transport visitors inside of Kahlo’s most famous works.
Another festival highlight is the award-winning Sun & Sea ($39 + bf), a durational English-language opera work in-the-round which will transform Sydney Town Hall with 26 tonnes of sand – confronting themes of climate emergency with humour and power.
The new Sydney Festival program invites audiences to revive the long-forgotten haunts of old-world Sydney, engage in familiar locations in different and unusual ways and immerse themselves in emerging spaces beyond their doorsteps. The city's venues, gardens and urban sites will be reimagined and revitalised specifically for the festival – think an untouched 1970s underground cocktail lounge springing to life in the central CBD; Old Government House in Parramatta Park transformed by the stories of the Dharug people; or an operatic beachscape transported to Sydney Town Hall.
The bygone CBD beacon that is the Harry Seidler-designed Commercial Travellers’ Association building – that one in Martin Place that looks like a mushroom – will be brought to life once again as The Weary Traveller, a late night festival haunt and pop-up venue. Deep beneath the busy sidewalks of Martin Place this slice of 1970s Sydney – think red shag carpet on the walls and velvet padded booths – will play host to a 16 nights of bespoke and intimate gigs from local and international artists, including Alice Skye, Astral People, Automatic, June Jones, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Lil Silva, Party Dozen, Tom Snowdon, Moktar, Two Birds with Bayand, Coloured Stone, HTRK and Potion.
Above the underground bar of the Commercial Travellers’ Association building, in the mushroom-shaped round filled with 28 hotel rooms, American artist Kelsey Lu presents a world premiere durational work that travels far beyond the regular constraints of contemporary music and art. In The Lucid: A Dream Portal to Awakening ($200-$400 +bf), Lu has crafted an eight-hour audio journey that examines how sound, mood and music can influence our thoughts and expand our imagination. Guests are invited to check-in and experience a one-night stay in another sonic realm.
There’s so much more in store for this Sydney Festival. Explore the full program at sydneyfestival.org.au. Tickets are on sale from 9am on Wednesday, October 19.