Christopher Wheeldon is one of the most celebrated figures in contemporary ballet and a major creative force in the dance world. The scope and originality of his work has won him an unrivaled international reputation.
Arguably Brian Friel's greatest play, Faith Healer influenced a generation of Irish writing for the theatre. A faith healer accepts that he must return home to Ireland, a destiny he can no longer postpone. The narrative makes up a mosaic that is both seductive and terrifying.
The Yalta Game is based on a theme in one of the greatest short stories ever written, Chekhov's The Lady with the Lapdog. Brian Friel unravels a thread of Chekhov's original and weaves it into a startling tapestry of longings and resolutions.
In Afterplay, Brian Friel brings together two of Chekhov's lost souls: Sonya, Uncle Vanya's devoted niece, and Andrey, the three sisters' henpecked brother. Afterplay catches an intimate, fragile moment set against the backdrop of a shattered world.
Artistic Director Martin Hayes draws together one of the finest line-ups of Irish musicians ever assembled in this celebration of traditional Irish music in its purest form.
Together with Austrian actor and angelic singer Martin Niedermair, Barrie Kosky creates a thrilling voyage into the morbid and fascinating world of the Master of Horror" with a performance that is sharpened to steely perfection - straight to the heart.
Join us for an epic, all-embracing celebration of our Festival and our city this January 10. The Festival explodes onto open-air stages, with major international artists from all over the world kicking off three weeks of inspiration, jubilation & perspiration.. and it's ALL FREE!!
Conceived as a counterpoint to large, commercial rock festivals, All Tomorrow's Parties is a music event unlike any other. The event will take place on Sydney Harbour's Cockatoo Island and be headlined and curated by Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.
In this Sydney-only engagement at the Enmore Theatre, Grace Jones will remind audiences of the power of her remarkable back catalogue and introduce us to blistering new material from Hurricane, the next chapter in a truly amazing career. Simply unmissable.
Theatre visionary Robert Lepage returns with his much anticipated new ensemble work. Visually and aurally spectacular, and imbued with a rare emotional wisdom, Lipsynch is theatre for the 21st century and a chance to see a great artist in full flight.
The Sydney Theatre Company Actors Company presents The War Of The Roses, an audacious epic of language and history. Joining the cast is STC Co-Artistic Director Cate Blanchett, on stage in Australia for the first time in almost five years.
The Sydney Theatre Company Actors Company presents The War Of The Roses, an audacious epic of language and history. Joining the cast is STC Co-Artistic Director Cate Blanchett, on stage in Australia for the first time in almost five years.
Double Dream is Misha Alperin and Mikhail Rudy's concert for two pianos, consisting of partly written and party improvised 'recompositions', accompanied by a live video feed that highlights their playful interactions. A concert which both surprises and delights.
The intimate film Once stars The Frames frontman Glen Hansard and classically trained pianist Marketa Irglová in a love story told largely through song. Hansard and Irglová will be joined on stage by The Frames to perform songs from the film and more.
Matthew Herbert's Big Band project combines the cream of the UK jazz scene - on trumpets, trombones, saxophones, piano, bass and drums - with Herbert's own electronic wizardry.
Budapest's Katona József Theatre presents their acclaimed production of Chekhov's early masterpiece. This remarkable acting ensemble works together like an orchestra, delivering an unsettling and poetic performance about human failing and the unfathomable vanity of a man incapable of love.
Acclaimed concert pianist Mikhail Rudy read Szpilman's memoir, The Pianist, and dreamt up a dramatic retelling of his journey. The Pianist is a duet for two Szpilmans: Rudy on piano and a solo actor recounting the story.
BELVOIR STREET THEATRE: Wild, anarchic theatre at its purest. Scenes from Pinter's plays and extracts from his Nobel Prize speech transform into a harrowing account of real life in Europe's last dictatorship.
Q THEATRE: Wild, anarchic theatre at its purest. Scenes from Pinter's plays and extracts from his Nobel Prize speech transform into a harrowing account of real life in Europe's last dictatorship. Performed at Q Theatre Penrith.
Few places can match the splendour of Sydney's beaches at sunrise. Add the angelic voices of Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and you have a very special Festival event.
Fanfare Ciocărlia are the world's foremost Gypsy brass band. This explosive ensemble creates a furious Balkan funk that excites a fan base stretching well beyond world music.
Seven fearless souls take 100 hours of taped phone conversations and transform them into a mighty, sweaty and exhilarating celebration of the struggle of daily life.
CITY RECITAL HALL: Quirky Parisian chanteuse Camille Dalmais is one of the hottest talents to have emerged from the 'new French chanson' scene. Her live shows are a tour de force of sophisticated song-writing and stunning vocals, imbued with her natural charisma.
Soulful, intimate and gracious, don't miss Bon Iver play City Recital Hall Angel Place. His shimmering voice shifts smoothly from a spectral falsetto to deeply soulful, grainy tones, layered over and under his spare, atmospheric instrumentation.
One of the most innovative bands in the UK, The Cinematic Orchestra remix live source material into a seamless fusion of electronic sampling, live instrumental and improvised jazz.
UK band The Bays make exhilarating live electronic music. Their seamless segues from hip hop and drum 'n' bass to ambient grooves challenge every old-school notion of a live band. Here, the band take iconic film Run Lola Run as inspiration.
New York City based composer, multi-instrumentalist and Bruce Lee fanatic Karsh Kale joins forces with New Delhi based electronica producers, The MIDIval Punditz, to perform their incendiary new live score of the 1973 martial arts classic Enter the Dragon.
Take The Bird, Hermitude, The Crusty Suitcase Band and Ponyclub Massacre and you have the eclectic culmination of artists that is The Orkestra of the Underground. The Orkestra will weave together a live score to the animated film Fantastic Planet.
Join us at The Domain as conductor and guide Richard Gill leads the Sydney Symphony through the work of some of Australia's most brilliant composers before taking us back to the beauty and inspiration of the giants of the classical canon.
An epic celebration of gypsy life and song combining the power of the brass section of the legendary Fanfare Ciocârlia with the gitano guitars of Kaloome and the soul of the great voices of the roma community. Music made for a summer's night.
Reggie Watts shakes new meaning into what you can do with a microphone and a loop machine. Exploiting a jaw-dropping ten-octave vocal range, he creates funky bass lines and soulful diva-esque vocals to underpin hilarious, off-the cuff riffs.
Delicate and worldly, Juana Molina's maverick style is an original blend of folk-ish acoustic sounds, ambient electronic beats and irresistibly warm, expressive vocals.
Bon Iver's delicate, spare and atmospheric music showcases Justin Vernon's soulful and emotive falsetto to perfection, and the band's live show has both critics and audiences raving.
Multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter St. Vincent's swirling indie-pop is a distinctly elegant fusion of the classical and experimental, the quirky and sophisticated.
Lead singer for Throwing Muses, Kristin Hersh's solo spoken word performance is funny, sad and candid. This wry and vivid work characterises Hersh as a shy artist who is simultaneously recognised for her brutal honesty in the spotlight.
Inspired by the popular BBC Radio program, Desert Island Discs, this work incorporates dance and spoken word into a warm-hearted and often funny exploration.
Dig deeper into the Festival through our series of lunchtime interviews and forums with the creative forces behind this year's shows at The Famous Spiegeltent.
Late at the Garden's unpredictable collection of music's most eclectic offerings could not be more at home than in the Samsung Mobile Festival Garden. Keep the Festival party going well into the night.
COURTYARD, RIVERSIDE THEATRES: Having incited a pint-sized Beatles-like mania throughout the US, now Dan Zanes bring his family gig to Riverside Theatres.
Combining visual spectacle with warmth and humour, this is a story not only of adventure and discovery, but also of respect for indigenous culture, land and folklore. A stunning visual feast, featuring large scale puppets, live actors and digital animation.
Led by the much-loved Maestro George Ellis, the Sydney Youth Orchestra, Australian Youth choir and a line-up of surprise guest performers present some of the highlight entries in the 2008 Australian Children's Music Foundation National Songwriting competition.
This quirky, beautiful, dark and very funny theatre show will transport you to a fantastical world of loss, trickery, gypsies, discovery and, of course, cheese.
Mr. Scruff's eclectic sound blends influences as diverse as soul, funk, hip hop, jazz, ska, disco, house and breaks. Katalyst, one of Australia's top DJs, joins the party.
Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings are the unrivalled frontrunners of old-school soul and funk. The Ray Mann Three deliver a dynamic yet warmly intimate set.
Throwing Muses' extraordinarily textured, tempo-shifting music, alongside Hersh's intuitive, dexterous singing, joins the dots between elliptical post-punk, harmonious folk jangle pop and rockabilly thunder.
Parisian duo DuOud blend the ancient oud with modern electronics. Rio's Maga Bo uses street sounds and rhythms from Brazil, Morocco, India and beyond. Filastine and Uber Lingua DJs also play.
Widely considered to be the founder of the mash-up movement, Z Trip's (US) live sets are an eclectic, crowd-pleasing, tour de force of beat-matching artistry. Respected for their high energy shows, OZ hip-hop crew TZU, join the party.
Holy Ghost! is one of the most exciting acts in the nu-disco scene. Idjut Boys produce genre-bending dance floor stormers. Theatre of Disco play their angular indie disco and Future Classic DJs top it off alongside psychedelic nu-disco posse Canyons.
Guest curators Inertia and Void program a night of deep future dub with The Bug featuring Warrior Queen, Rhythm & Sound feat. Tikiman, Mark Pritchard, Sub Bass Snarl, Steve Spacek and more.
BECK'S FESTIVAL BAR: French songstress Camille replaces traditional instruments with a spectacular soundscape of layered human voices, harmonies, rhythms and foot-stamping body percussion.
Four Tet makes machine-based music with acoustic warmth, drawing on jazz, soul and folk and pitching it against intricate, funky rhythms. Live, he improvises in real-time, drawing on and feeding back the energy of his audience.
Alice Russell's sound is unmistakably modern and classically timeless, encompassing everything from funk to gospel to jazz. Mark de Clive-Lowe blends jazz, ethnic music and urban grooves into a fresh 21st century flavour.
Daedelus is one of LA's most daring and prolific new artists. His trademark musicality contrasts intelligent, left-field hip hop cut-ups with samples from the 30s and 40s in a fun, quirky and energetic live set.
Iag Bari - Brass on Fire is an energetic documentary following the musicians of Fanfare Ciocărlia as they travel from their Romanian Gypsy village to some of the world's great concert halls. Film introduced by members of the band.
Featuring Glen Hansard from Irish band The Frames, Once tells the story of a street musician and a Czech immigrant during an eventful week as they write, rehearse and record songs that reveal their unique love story. Join Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová at this special screening.
Directed by Pat O'Connor, Brian Friel's play is transformed into a powerful film featuring Meryl Streep as a school teacher living in rural Ireland in the 30s.
Head down to Sydney's spectacular harbour foreshore this Australia Day for Sydney Festival's annual harbourside celebration. Cheer on the ferries as they battle it out to the finish line.
