15 must-see shows at Sydney Festival 2023

Nineties nostalgia just got physical. To a soundtrack of floor-filling bangers from arguably pop’s finest era, this high-energy circus-comedy-cabaret extravaganza is a toe-tapping love letter to the style, music and sass of the 1990s. The show is stacked with big tricks and even bigger characters, like world-famous hula hooper Lisa Lottie, musclebound strong woman Cassie Jamieson and celebrated circus legend Vincent Van Berkel. Throw on some Spandex, a cute choker and some low-rise jeans and get ready for an over-the-top ensemble performance that will suck you into an Oz Style fever dream.

Tickets are $30-$59. Werk It is at the Seymour Centre, Jan 12-22.

There’s a very good chance you’ve strolled by it a hundred times walking through the CBD, but now Sydneysiders will be able to discover what’s inside the distinctive ‘Mushroom Building’ by the recently renovated Seidler-designed tower at 25 Martin Place. The city’s newest hospitality precinct will be getting a limited-time-only retro addition during Sydney Festival, as this unpretentious and unrenovated space transports Sydneysiders back to a ‘70s-style underground live music haunt. Across 16 nights of eclectic, cutting-edge music programming, visitors to the Fest’s pop-up after-dark venue can hear punk to pop, jazz to metal, indie to ambient and plenty in between. And of course, there will be ample opportunities for a dance. Expect performances from Lil Silva, Potion, Party Dozen, Coloured Stone, HTRK, Alice Skye and more on the billing.

Entry is from $29. The Weary Traveller is at the CTA Business Club, Jan 5-29.

With a career spanning more than three decades, circus artist Yamoussa Bangoura has worked with some of the best troupes in the world. But it’s the signature infusion of his native West African culture that has truly marked him out as one of the most exciting contemporary circus talents in the world today. The artistic director of Montreal-based company Kalabanté Productions brings his striking vision to Sydney, sharing the skills of young African circus artists, blending a vibrant mix of acrobatics, live music and dance. Experience authentic and original choreography set to the pulsating rhythms of the djembes of Guinea, celebrating the diversity of traditional African arts with a bold, modern flair.

Tickets are $39-$79. Afrique en Cirque is at Parramatta Riverside Theatres, Jan 6-15.

The vivid and fantastical works of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, best known for her striking self portraits, continue to intrigue and beguile art lovers even 70 years after her death. But it’s not merely her skills at the easel that have made her such an enduring force. For the first time in Australia, an immersive biographical exhibition reveals the woman behind the work, exploring the perseverance and passion that defied boundaries of culture, gender and tradition. Co-created by the Frida Kahlo Corporation and the renowned Spanish digital arts company Layers of Reality, this dynamic experience features seven transformational spaces featuring collections of historical photographs and original films, captivating holography, 360-degree projections and a virtual reality system that will transport visitors inside Kahlo’s most famous works, all accompanied by fresh arrangements of traditional Mexican music, performed live.

Tickets are $39-$49. Frida Kahlo: The Life of an Icon is at the Cutaway, Barangaroo, from Jan 4.

The most ambitious and ground-breaking work to date by legendary Swiss theatremaker James Thierée is a surrealist masterwork that defies conventional categorisation. Presented by the Thierée-helmed Compagnie du Hanneton, this constantly shifting kaleidoscope of dance, mime, acrobatics, music and cutting-edge stage tech is a dizzyingly complex work drawn from the most humble of inspirations: the four walls of a room. Ceilings spin, the inanimate springs to life, and the human body becomes a symphony or sounds as the unexpected becomes the status quo. Sydney theatre fans may well recall Thierée’s previous visits to Sydney Festival with sell-out shows like Tabac Rouge and Au Revoir Parapluie, but the leaps and bounds made in ROOM stand this production out as a spectacle unlike any Sydney has seen before. 

Tickets $79-$129. ROOM is at the Roslyn Packer Theatre, Jan 11-25.

This new chamber opera follows the explorations of a mapmaker, a natural philosopher and a theologian as they brave the world’s last great wilderness – at its most hostile to human life. From composer Mary Finsterer and librettist Tom Write, this blending of contemporary composition and ancient musical styles is mirrored in a production that features both period design and next-gen digital sets. See an all-Australian cast team up with one of the world’s great contemporary music ensembles, Asko|Schönberg, and join this voyage to the bleak and icy wonders hiding at the edge of human experience. 

Tickets are $39-$149. Antarctica is at Carriageworks, Jan 5-8.

Through an innovative mix of dance, music and text, newly appointed artistic director of Australian Dance Theatre, Wiradjuri choreographer Daniel Riley, summons one of the most personal works of his career. This powerful and intimate story charts the life of Riley’s great great uncle, Alex 'Tracker’ Riley, who served with the New South Wales Police Force for 40 years on numerous important cases. Through the lens of this legacy, Tracker explores the complex battles First Nations people have navigated for generations, at once the most ancient continuous culture in the world, and a community in flux that continues to evolve. Created in partnership with the Ilbijerri Theatre Company, Riley’s collaborators include playwright Ursula Yovich, composers James Henry and Gary Waitling and visual artist Johnathan Jones as well as an all-First Nations cast.

Tickets are $59. Tracker is at Carriageworks, Jan 10-14.

Today, spoiled by the multitude of digital portals at our fingertips, online communication is something most of us take for granted. But remember the bad old days of dial-up internet and chat rooms? Tabby Lamb’s warm, witty and thoroughly nostalgic new play is a queer love story that charts the transition from childhood to adulthood – and from cis-gendered to trans – via the technologies that accompanied those growing pains, from the Wild West of MSN chatrooms through to Gen Z’s digital drug of choice, TikTok. Starring trans actors Sam Crerar and Tommi Bryson, Happy Meal is a digital fantasy IRL exploring a story of self-discovery that has never been more relevant. 

Tickets are $59-$69. Happy Meal is at the Eternity Playhouse, Jan 17-22.

There are concerts, and then there are one-of-a-kind performances such as this one by celebrated American composer and synthstress Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. Playing songs from her dreamy, hypnotic canon, including tracks from her albums Ears, The Kid and Mosaic of Transformation, this intimate experience overlooking Sydney Harbour will be timed to coincide with the dawn, as Smith welcomes the day’s first rays over one of the true natural wonders of the world. This meditative, uplifting gig might require audience members to set their alarm a little earlier than normal, but as Smith’s soundworld beckons the breaking day, that early start will feel more than worth it. And for those who just can’t resist the temptation of the snooze button, Smith will also be performing at the Weary Traveller on the evening of January 8.

Tickets are $59. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith: Call to the Morning is at Strickland Estate on Jan 7 only.

One of the greatest ever virtuosos of flamenco is bringing her peerless command of Spain’s national dance to the Sydney Opera House, in a production that showcases the full spectrum of flamenco from bolero, siguirya and soleá to caña, rumba and buleria. Don’t worry if that glossary has you scratching your head – all you need to know is that this is the finest expression of this passionate, centuries-old art form you’ll ever see. Sara Baras: Alma is the latest large-scale production by Baras, which premiered in Seville in 2021, and is considered one of her most dynamic and electrifying shows to date. Expect colour, sensuality, billowing costumes, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it footwork and an intoxicating score of traditional Spanish music performed live. 

Tickets are $49-$129. Sara Baras: Alma is at the Sydney Opera House, Jan 27-28.

Following a smash-hit debut season in Adelaide, this one-woman comedy-drama, starring Play School identity and children's music great Justine Clarke, is a witty yet moving exploration of the aftermath of a relationship. From its red-hot beginnings when lust and love were interchangeable, to the cooling commitment of marriage, to the chilly drudge of kids and career and finally the icy unraveling of it all, this tour-de-force monologue will have you on the edge of your seat. Written by award-winning British playwright Dennis Kelly, this is one for both hardcore theatre fans and newcomers to the stage.

Tickets are $39-$69. Girls & Boys is at the Seymour Centre, Jan 5-15.

One of this year’s most unusual and exclusive shows invites the audience to journey into the subconscious – from the comfort of a hotel bed. This eight-hour sound work is site specific to the 28 hotel rooms that line the Seidler-designed mushroom building that overlooks 25 Martin Place. The brainchild of American multidisciplinary creative Kelsey Lu – whose previous collaborators include the likes of Sampha, Florence and the Machine, and Solange – this trippy, experimental work will attempt to hack the listener’s mind, using sound flows and carefully crafted triggers to lull the audience into a state somewhere between the conscious and unconscious, where they can experience the magic of lucid dreaming. Transcend the bounds of your room and take flight with the most liberating eight hours of sleep you’ll ever have.

Tickets are $200-$400 for the 8-hour durational piece. The Lucid: A Dream Portal to Awakening is at the CTA Business Club, Jan 5-29. 

Rumours still abound that the believed-to-be-extinct thylacine – aka the Tasmanian Tiger – still roams somewhere in the wilds of Tassie. So, what would you do if you happened to come upon one of these fabled critters? This is the premise of this charming play about two friends who stumble on the very last thylacine and decide to take it to safety across the sea to Aotearoa. All they’ll need to do to make the trip is outwit the Māori gods and palawa spirits – a task easier said than done. Created by Performing Lines TAS and co-written by palawa playwright Nathan Maynard and Māori writer Jamie McCaskill, Hide the Dog offers a fascinating melding of Antipodean First Nations lore and storytelling, brought to life with puppetry and spectacular stage effects.

Tickets are $35-$45. Hide the Dog is at the Sydney Opera House, Jan 6-8.

This sincere yet irreverent ode to Ernest Becker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning thesis The Denial of Death is not the dirge you might imagine. This mediation on mortality brings a surprising amount of fun to the subjects of the end of life and what comes next, thanks to the effervescent performance of Jacob Rajan, the sole actor who hopscotches across all seven of the play’s roles. Infused with Indian folklore and spiritual beliefs, this is a production brimming with warmth, joy, pathos and deep thinking – plus just a dash of Bollywood disco. Expect to leave with your smile broad, your eyes wet and your heart full. 

Tickets are $49-$59. Paradise or the Impermanence of Ice Cream is at Riverside Theatres, Jan 17-22.

Scourge of Troy, demi-god warrior, and he of the vulnerable ankles, Achilles’ legend has echoed through the ages. But there’s one facet of this Classical superstar that is often downplayed: his intimate relationship with his adopted brother Patroclus. Conjured with the signature brilliance that has become the trademark of Brisbane’s Dead Puppet Society and Sydney-based physical theatre troupe Legs on the Wall, this reimagining of the Greek myth puts this often overlooked connected between Achilles and Patroclus under the spotlight, revealing more tender facets to these heroes of yore. Featuring a haunting score performed live by singer-songwriter Montaigne, this epic production promises to be as visually and sonically arresting as it is thought provoking. 

Tickets are $59. Holding Achilles is at Carriageworks, Jan 19-22.