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Egyptian British actor and activist Khalid Abdalla played Dodi Fayed, Princess Diana’s boyfriend, in The Crown. (Supplied: Sydney Festival\/Manuel Vason)<\/p>\n
Sydney Festival 2026 is the first from incoming director Kris Nelson and also marks its 50th anniversary.<\/p>\n
“I’m so excited,” Nelson says. “I just really want to release this festival into our city.<\/p>\n
“There’s some really strong Australian work especially, some brand new work, and that feels really great. And then a whole host of international artists and voices coming our way.”<\/p>\n
He sees the festival as falling into five main themes: finding common ground through ceremony; bringing international work to Sydney; turning the city into a stage; uprooting the status quo; and making connections across generations.<\/p>\n
These themes often overlap \u2014 as in boundary-pushing international work, like Bigmouth Strikes Again (The Smiths Show), a cabaret from New York’s Salty Brine based on the music of the English rock band; Abdalla’s “anti-memoir” Nowhere; or asses.masses from Canadian artists Patrick Blenkam and Milton Lim, a live video game, which invites audiences to play one-at-a-time as a herd of unemployed donkeys.<\/p>\n
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Live video game asses.masses has been described as “Animal Farm meets Pok\u00e9mon meets Final Fantasy”. (Supplied: Sydney Festival)<\/p>\n
“I see the festival as a meeting place,” Nelson says.<\/p>\n
“[It’s] about who we are in the world, where we’re going, and how many different points of connection there are between us, each other, and the art.”First Nations focus<\/p>\n
Sydney Festival opens with a slate of First Nations works as part of its Blak Out program \u2014 the last from the festival’s Creative Artist in Residence, Daly River artist and designer Jacob Nash.<\/p>\n
The sculptural works of Yuwaalaraay wirringgaa artist Lisa Simpson \u2014 vessels shaped like coolamons, titled HELD \u2014 will be unveiled to kick off the festival.<\/p>\n
Joel Bray will then host Garabri<\/a>, a kind of corroboree sound-tracked by electro-dance music outside the Sydney Opera House that invites the audience to participate in ceremony; while Jannawi Dance Clan from Western Sydney<\/a> will bring its intergenerational performance to one of the venue’s stages.<\/p>\n “I love that thing that is true and said over and over again: Australia has been home for storytelling for more than 60,000 years,” Nelson says.<\/p>\n “That fact alone makes it feel right [to open with First Nations stories].”<\/p>\n More than 20 women from across generations will perform in Jannawi Dance Clan’s Garrigarrang Badu. the first-ever full-length dance work in Dharug language. (Supplied: Sydney Festival\/Stephen Wilson Barker)<\/p>\n The festival will close with the annual Vigil on the eve of January 26. This year, it’s titled Belong, and features a performance from Lisa Simpson’s musician sister, Nardi, with a community choir.<\/p>\n “Nardi is creating this community choir that will sing [Lucy Simpson’s vessels] up, in a way, and will sing to Country,” Nelson says.<\/p>\n Artists at the centre<\/p>\n Canadian-born Nelson joined Sydney Festival last year, replacing outgoing director Olivia Ansell.<\/p>\n He took over after six years at the helm of the London International Festival of Theatre and, before that, four years at Dublin Fringe Festival.<\/p>\n His experiences with these festivals introduced him to a number of Australian artists, from Breckon and Randall (creators of The Second Woman<\/a>) to the genre-defying First Nations performers Hot Brown Honey.<\/p>\n “I’ve always had a real affinity with Australian artists,” Nelson says.<\/p>\n “I love the ambition in the sector. There’s a mix of fearlessness as well as a sense that it’s important to tell local stories.”<\/p>\n Now, Nelson, with help from his team of local programmers, has used his connections and growing understanding of the Australian arts scene to create a Sydney Festival program that is “helping artists write their signatures across the city skyline”.<\/p>\n Tongan Australian performance artist Latai Taumoepeau will hold the ritual Wansolmoana Lunar Assembly for one night at McIver’s Ladies Baths. (Supplied: Sydney Festival\/Teresa Tan)<\/p>\n “I want to know from artists: ‘What has the festival done for you lately? And what should it be doing?’\u2026 I start with that conversation.”<\/p>\n A report published last year<\/a> found Australian artists earn an average income of $54,500 a year \u2014 26 per cent below the national average.<\/p>\n Nelson believes that precarity means the festival, which has relatively secure state and federal funding, has an obligation to support artists.<\/p>\n “Sydney Festival should be powering the Australian cultural sector. It should be a home for artists,” he says.<\/p>\n “We need to be where artists can push their ambition and realise daring projects.”<\/p>\n That support extends to people working behind the scenes as well. A pilot program called Festival Commons will offer networking and information-sharing opportunities to emerging First Nations and culturally diverse curators from Australia and abroad.<\/p>\n “It’s an example of a big institution like ours investing in and plugging into some more grassroots initiatives,” Nelson says.<\/p>\n “It’s a seed towards something that could disrupt the sector, and could be quite special.”<\/p>\n Collaboration across festivals<\/p>\n Mama Does Derby, the roller derby play from Virginia Gay, is one of a number of works in the line-up shared with another state arts festival \u2014 in this case, Adelaide Festival<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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