Eight of the best: an expert’s guide to the must-see Sydney Festival shows
By Nick Galvin
From the restaging of an infamous Sydney murder trial to DJ nights at The Moonshine Bar, an operatic take on a Las Vegas love story to the annual Vigil - the 2025 Sydney Festival has plenty of events you won’t want to miss. Here’s our guide to just some of the highlights.
Siegfried & Roy: The Unauthorised Opera
Wharf 1 Theatre, January 8 - 25
Kanen Breen and Christopher Tonkin as Siegfried and Roy.Credit: Sydney Festival
At the height of their careers they were possibly the best known illusionists in the world. Unashamedly camp, trashy and over-the-top, Siegfried and Roy mesmerised Las Vegas with their magical double act featuring their trademark big cats.
It’s a rags-to-riches love story that ends in unimaginable tragedy – in other words the perfect tale to be given the operatic treatment. Created by Luke Di Somma and Con Costi and starring Kanen Breen and Christopher Tonkin, this will be one of the hottest tickets of the festival.
Dark Noon
Sydney Town Hall, January 9 - 23
Dark Noon explores colonisation through the trope of the Western.
Dark Noon continues the recent festival tradition of using Sydney Town Hall to stage immersive and surprising performances (Sun & Sea in 2023, Sunshine Super Girl, 2021).
The brainchild of Denmark’s Tue Biering and South Africa’s Nhlanhla Mahlangu, Dark Noon takes the trope of the Western and turns it on its head to explore colonisation and migration through the lens of its South African cast.
Billed as a “raw, immersive ride through history that confronts power, race and displacement”, it was a huge hit at the Edinburgh Festival.
A Model Murder
Darlinghurst Courthouse, January 4 - 19
The case of Shirley Beiger became a cause celebre in 1954.Credit: Artwork by Aresna Villanueva
Was there ever a more Sydney story than that of Shirley Beiger? Beiger was a glamorous 22-year-old model and some-time page-three girl who shot dead her boyfriend Arthur Griffith, 23, when she spied him with another woman outside a Kings Cross nightclub.
Beiger’s trial became a cause celebre and there were cheers when she was ultimately acquitted.
The twist in Melanie Tait and Sheridan Harbridge’s retelling of the story is that it will be staged inside Darlinghurst Courthouse – the venue in which Beiger was originally tried.
Cendrillon
Sydney Opera House, January 2 - March 28
Cendrillon retells the age-old folk tale in fine style.Credit: Bill Cooper / Royal Opera House
Folk tales featuring a downtrodden servant girl who beats the odds to win the love of a prince have been told in one form or another for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.
French composer Jules Massenet (Werther and Manon) made his contribution to the canon at the end of the 19th century.
More or less following the classic Cinderella story, complete with errant footwear and a magical coach and horses, the production promises wildly extravagant costumes, inventive choreography and plenty of laughs underpinned by Massenet’s lush score.
Thirsty Mile
Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, January 4 - 26
Telly Tuita’s work is colourful, fabulous and fun.
Sydney Festival will once again take over the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, principally Pier 2/3, as its festival hub dubbed The Thirsty Mile.
The Moonshine Bar will host free music and DJ nights and is well worth a visit. With a decent crowd and good weather, the vibe is hard to beat.
Also, check out the work of this year’s artist-in-residence Telly Tuita. A pioneer of so-called Tongpop, Tuita’s work is fabulous and fun.
Vigil: Truths
Barangaroo Reserve, January 25
The Vigil at Barangaroo has become a central part of Sydney Festival.Credit: Wolter Peeters
The annual Vigil is the brilliant idea of previous festival director Wesley Enoch.
Rather than challenge head-on the hurt caused to Indigenous people by the celebration of Australia Day on January 26, Enoch established the vigil on the night before to allow Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to gather, share stories and contemplate the anniversary of the moment immediately before the colonisers arrived in Australia.
It is preceded by three weeks of workshops and performances on the themes People, Country and Spirit.
Tina - A Tropical love Story
Wharf 1 Theatre, Walsh Bay, January 11 - 12
Ben Graetz/Miss Ellaneous will present his very personal homage to Tina Turner.
In 1993, the legendary Tina Turner performed at Darwin’s Amphitheatre as part of her worldwide What’s Love Got To Do With It? tour.
In among the 8000-strong crowd on that hot and sweaty night was Ben Graetz, a 13-year-old Indigenous boy. The impact of that night was life-changing for young Ben.
Now in the guise of his drag artist persona Miss Ellaneous, Graetz shares tales of growing up in the Top End in his own cabaret show, part of the festival’s Blak Out program. Expect glitz, glamour, special guests and a heap of Tina’s hit songs.
William Yang: Milestone
Roslyn Packer Theatre, January 10 - 11
William Yang has documented and celebrated Sydney’s queer culture for more than 50 years.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
National treasure William Yang seems to have been around forever, documenting and celebrating queer culture in Sydney. A gifted, natural and funny performer, Yang presents a slideshow telling his story as a queer Chinese-Australian man who has lived through some of the most turbulent social events in our history. He will be accompanied by musicians including the always delightful Elena Kats-Chernin.
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