By Rama Gaind.
Every January, Sydney Festival livens up Sydney with a citywide multi-art form cultural celebration. The 2019 program, running until 27 January, is no exception. Some of the events are free with a sweeping program of performances across theatre, dance, music, circus and the visual arts.
Experience weightlessness inside the earth’s gravitational pull and float through the air, with giant bouncy droplets Moon Drops at Darling Harbour as part of the 2019 Sydney Festival.
Get yourself connected with the diverse stories reflected on the arts, music, dance, and exhibits of different cultures that makes Sydney one of the best multicultural cities in the world.
This festival defines the personality of Harbour City. The city’s audacious contemporary programming positions it at the forefront of arts practice in Australia and up there as one of the most wonderful festivals in the world.
The new year has begun with a bang, transforming the city with a bold cultural celebration based on critical ideas and cutting-edge art and performance. The program is adventurous and diverse, from cutting-edge international theatre such as Beware of Pity and Home to glittering, raucous nights of music and cabaret like Shànghǎi MiMi and Pigalle.
As one of Australia’s favourite annual cultural events, Sydney Festival presents the biggest and best of the world’s performing and visual arts. There are so many activities on offer.
At the Sydney Opera House will be a stage performance of Gabrielle Wang’s award-winning novel A Ghost in My Suitcase, which tells the family story of a young girl’s trip to her ancestral home in China and how she entered into a world of ghost-hunting.
The installation is a moon-inspired mini-adventure for all the family to try out, defying gravity on earth at Darling Harbour during the 2019 Sydney Festival.
Other theatre delights on offer include ‘The Iliad – Out Loud’, a nine-hour (yes, nine) dramatic reading of Homer’s ‘The Iliad’, and ‘Home’, a reflection on safety and shelter by Geoff Sobelle.
Magical shows
Sydney Festival returns to Hyde Park with the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent and Festival Garden, where you can drop in for a drink and some food before or after a Spiegeltent show, plus enjoy free until-late weekend parties with Sydney’s fabulous DJing duo The Dollar Bin Darlings.
The Indigenous program ‘Blak Out’ returns with powerful new theatre including ‘Man With The Iron Neck ‘and ‘The Weekend’, as well as art installations, music and dance-theatre by First Nations artists, and the third edition of our popular Indigenous language classes Bayala.
There’s a stacked contemporary music program featuring everything from a Cuban mambo band to feminist pop icon Neneh Cherry, glam-pop superstar Nakhane, experimental electronic composer Ben Frost and much more.
There’s also plenty to do and experience that doesn’t cost a cent, from the moon art installations at World Square, Darling Harbour and Barangaroo South to the return of the beloved Sydney Symphony Under The Stars in Parramatta Park and the Circus Comes To Town weekend in Prince Alfred Square.
Head down to Darling Harbour where you will have lots of fun during the 2019 Sydney Festival.
Plus you’ll find free art installations at Carriageworks, the Museum of Contemporary Art, UNSW Galleries and Artspace, and free talks with artists and experts at UTS, NSW State Library and more.
Diverse entertainment
The nation’s favourite summer party since 1977, the Sydney Festival has been devoted to providing diverse indoor and outdoor entertainment for a wide and varied crowd.
Ride on the ‘flying bike’ Lunar Velocipede created by Earth Visual & Physical, join a Rhythm Spin Class or take part in the Welcome Choir’s rendition of a Frank Sinatra classic.
Here’s some of the fun activities/attractions you can attend during the festival:
Moon Drops at Darling Harbour: ever wonder how it feels like to be in the moon? The seven super-sized water-filled droplets installed at the Darling Harbour will present a portion of that experience – allowing one to feel weightless inside Earth. Enjoy these moon-inspired bouncy pads by hopping, rolling, playing and running around with family and friends.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landing, separate interactive installations have been set up around the city. Apollo 11 at Barangaroo features three large astronaut statues at various locations. Each one has a QR code that connects to information and stories about the lesser known heroes of the space race. Experience weightlessness with Moon Drops at Darling Harbour – a number of large, button-shaped, water-filled bladders that you can walk or lie on.
Barangaroo headland hosts a large scale outdoor sculpture by local Bangarra artist in residence Jacob Nash, featuring the declaration ‘ALWAYS’: always was, always will be. Visit the sculpture at Barangaroo Reserve at any time during the 2019 Sydney Festival.
World Square: jump on a Lunar Velocipede (flying bicycle) or ride your own bike and contribute your kilometres to Fly Me To The Moon, a project inviting cyclists to cumulatively pedal the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
Silent Disco: who says you can’t party hard at the library? Silent Disco will do that for you. All you have to do is put on the headphones, switch the music on and dance like there’s no tomorrow as you listen to the most recent tracks provided to you by a special guest DJ. Silent Disco will happen at the State Library’s freshly renovated galleries on 25 January. It promises a perfect setting for you to show off that choreography that’s uniquely yours.
Race in Ferrython: add some spice to the celebration of Australia Day by joining the Ferrython or the race of the ferries (with no pressure); all you need to do is sit in as a passenger on the Blue ferry (wearing an all-blue outfit).
Don’t delay, join in the fun because there’s something for everyone!
DETAILS BOX
2019 Sydney Festival
Ends 27 January
