The Sydney Festival 2024 program is bursting at the seams with events that invite you to dance, sway or stay blissfully still in a good ol’ theatre seat. However, for every show that fits the traditional mould, there’s something out of the box to try too.

From the weird and wacky to the once-in-a-lifetime, these ain’t your everyday audience setups. With no stalls or dress circles in sight, you’ll be on the water, on cushions, on your phone – or even onstage as part of the action. Read on for a selection of the unique and unusual Festival experiences you won’t forget in a hurry.

Ensemble Apex: Come Sweet Death

Sydney’s Ensemble Apex is a collective of charismatic musicians taking classical music to new audiences through bold, unconventional experiences.

Inspired by one of JS Bach’s most sorrowful and devotional songs, Ensemble Apex’s Come Sweet Death features music from across three centuries that lifts the veil between life and death. For this event, you’re invited to lie down on the floor, with the lights flickering low, and let this absorbing experience take over.

MORE INFO

Night Songs at Coney Island

Coney Island at Luna Park has surprised, delighted and overstimulated Sydney’s children for generations. Now, at Sydney Festival, the iconic funhouse (complete with Mirror Maze, vintage slot machines and giant slides) will host the world premiere of Night Songs at Coney Island, a deeply moving work exploring innocence lost, performed by artists from the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and other celebrated vocal talents.

Patrons will take a ferry from Pier One to Luna Park, then be immersed in an eerie scene and soundscape as this visit to a childhood wonderland takes an unusual turn.

MORE INFO

House of Fast Fashun

Ever watched a runway show that made you think, ‘I could do that’? Well, now’s your moment. House of Fast Fashun is a fun, hands-on experience from Melbourne’s Fast Fashun art collective that invites you to get into the seams and make something fabulous.

Artists will be on hand to help you create unique fashion pieces from old clothes and textile waste, in a workshop-performance hybrid that upends the wasteful fast fashion industry. Participants are then encouraged to showcase their creations, with highly supportive and music-filled runway shows every hour, on the hour. All ages are welcome, and no previous tailoring experience is necessary to get in the vibe.

MORE INFO

A'amar

Join Aseel Tayah, a Melbourne-based Palestinian artist, activist and passionate cook, for an inviting evening of food, stories and songs at Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres.

A true sensory experience, A’amar includes a four-course Arabic meal, which you’ll enjoy while seated on cushions on the floor. In between the dishes (including perhaps the best hummous you’ve ever tasted), Tayah will weave a story of friendship, love, community and resilience. In short: not your regular dinner and a show.

MORE INFO

Cambodian Circus Workshop

Not many shows require you to limber up and get your stretches in beforehand, but this is no ordinary show. From 10 to 19 January the esteemed Cambodian circus, Phare, is running workshops at the Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre to get you ring-ready.

Phare is the troupe behind the highly anticipated circus show, White Gold, which has its Australian exclusive showing at the Festival. In these workshops, participants can expect to expand their skill set with juggling, human pyramid and acrobatic activities. It’s the rarest of chances to not only actively practise circus skills with internationally touring circus professionals, but also learn Cambodian circus styles (and stun your mates at parties).

MORE INFO

Soliloquy 

---