Sydney Opera House announces new kids festival Wild Things

This spring school holidays, Sydney Opera House will transform into a creative wonderland for kids and their families with the inaugural Wild Things International Kids Festival.

Across 16 days, leading companies from Europe, North America, the United Kingdom, Asia and Australia will illustrate the breadth and artistic ingenuity of performance-making for young people aged 0 – 14 (and the young at heart).

Free, large-scale interactive installations and performances will take over the Forecourt as the space becomes a vibrant playground where families roam free among immersive activations. Inside the building, a dynamic array of performances includes two shows for babies and nine Australian premieres.

With a program spanning circus, Korean pansori, wildly inventive page-to stage adaptations of classic children’s books – and James Joyce’s Ulysses – this festival takes young audiences on a journey through Taiwan, Syria, Africa, Korea, Australia’s First Nations, Antarctica, Europe, the far reaches of the forest, the deep sea and even outer space.

All performances are accessibly priced at $49 and under, with free creative workshops – including one using the latest Apple technology – and play activities for a roaring good time.

“At its heart, Wild Things is an invitation to be inspired by the extraordinary creativity of artists from around the world who are making work for young audiences,” said Tamara Harrison, Sydney Opera House Head of Children, Families and Creative Learning.

“Never before has Australia seen this scale and variety of international performances, play spaces and workshops for kids and their families all in one place. True to our mission, we are committed to bringing unmissable contemporary work for children and families to Sydney, with the belief that the arts can create lasting, joyful memories for all ages.”

FOR BABIES & EARLY YEARS:

Volatile Ombré
Utzon Room: 6 – 9 October | Ages 1+
(FRANCE) | Australian Premiere
An invitation to connect with the poetry of simple things, Volatile Ombré is an ode to nature, brought to life through shadow puppetry and music with live cello, guitar, ondes martenot and voice – joined by birdsong. An Australian debut from French company La Rotule.

Be Kind
Studio: 8 – 11 October | Ages 6 – 18 months
(NETHERLANDS) | Australian Premiere
Baby’s first circus follows the rhythm of the day, from dawn’s birdsong to luminous juggling clubs at dusk within a dynamic set filled with tantalising objects that rattle, creak, roll and float. From Emilie Weisse Circustheater, Be Kind is based on scientific research that aims to emotionally reach babies.

AGES TWO – SIX:

ZOOOM
Playhouse: 26 – 29 September | Ages 4+
(AUSTRALIA)
Award-winning visionary theatre-makers Patch Theatre return with an imaginary adventure through the universe inspired by Crockett Johnson’s beloved children’s book Harold and The Purple Crayon. Featuring original music, lasers and projections, ZOOOM invites the audience to help a lost star find its way home.

Handa’s Surprise
Utzon Room: 28 September – 2 October| Ages 2 – 5
(UK) | Australian Premiere
Seven delicious fruits. Seven very cheeky animals. What could go wrong? A Kenyan puppet safari based on Eileen Browne’s bestseller brought to life through physical performance, live music and song from North London theatre institution Little Angel Theatre.

Waiting!
Studio: 30 September – 2 October | Ages 3+
(KOREA) | Australian Premiere
This aquatic, multi-award-winning production from Korean theatre company Haddangse is performed lying down, bringing a magical deep-sea adventure to life.

Grand Soft Day
Playhouse : 8 – 11 October | Ages 2 – 6
(IRELAND + UK) | Australian Premiere
A mesmerising co-production from two giants of theatre-making for children: Branar and New International Encounter (NIE). Grand Soft Day follows three friends on an adventure in the woods, where the weather keeps disrupting their plans. Mainly wordless, the performance is brought to life by a live percussive soundtrack and snippets of English, Irish and Italian woven throughout.

AGES SIX – TEN:

Tinker Tales!
Playhouse: 3 – 5 October | Ages 6+
(NETHERLANDS) | Australian Premiere
An energetic building site where three performers dance, build, create and repair vast contraptions before everything goes haywire! Dutch company Plan d- bring their joyful celebration of tinkering to the stage through physical theatre, dance and plenty of laughs. Free “tinkering” sessions will run in the Centre for Creativity for busy small hands.

The Longest Nights
Studio: 30 September – 2 October | Ages 7+
(KOREA) | World Premiere
A white rhinoceros and a penguin find an unlikely friendship during one very long night. From the acclaimed Ipkoason, a heartwarming bilingual pansori adventure based on the award-winning Korean children’s book by Luly.

AGES TEN+:

We Come From Far, Far Away
Studio: 3 – 7 October | Ages 10+
(NORWAY + CZECH REPUBLIC + UK)
Abdallah comes from Syria. He wants to tell you some things about life, boats, tents, trains, McDonalds … and death. Based on the real journeys of young refugees, brought to life inside a Mongolian yurt. From renowned European theatre-makers NIE Theatre (New International Encounter).

Cookies, Ann, Cream
Centre for Creativity: 8 – 9 October | Ages 10+
(KOREA) | Australian Premiere
An adventure through Antarctica and the cosmos told through puppetry, shadow and light from Trunk Theatre Project.

You’ll See…
Centre for Creativity: 10 October | All Ages
(IRELAND) |Australian Premiere
Ulysses for children? Yes. Yes, Ulysses for children. James Joyce’s epic novel, set across a single day in Dublin, comes to life for young audiences in this inventive new show. From esteemed Irish company Branar, You’ll See… combines live performance, intricate paper design and an original score in a piece of theatre that will excite both young and old.

FREE ON THE FORECOURT:

SWING
Forecourt: 26 September – 8 October | Ages 9+
(AUSTRALIA)
On the Forecourt, a celebration of glee! Created by Ian Pidd, this enormous, bright yellow swing – almost nine metres tall – is designed so that adults (and everyone else) might regain their childhood selves in a public space.

Iwagumi Air Scape
Forecourt: 26 September – 8 October | All Ages
(AUSTRALIA)
Multi-award-winning Melbourne-based art and technology studio ENESS will celebrate the beauty of nature and pay homage to Iwagumi, which translates to “rock formation” in Japanese and relates to balance and harmony in nature.

This large-scale installation of illuminated boulders is designed to be placed in the middle of the city, sharply contrasting the wilderness with the urban environment. Iwagumi’s lights will remain on after each day of Wild Things activities, providing a luminous meeting place for audiences of all ages until 10pm each night.

Puzzle
Forecourt: 26 September – 1 October | All Ages
(TAIWAN)
A production created specifically for urban public spaces from FOCASA Circus. Five talented circus performers tumble, balance, handstand and form human pyramids while stacking five hollow cubes in all sorts of combinations.

Living Sculptures: How the birds got their colours
Forecourt: 2 – 6 October | All ages
(AUSTRALIA)
A stunning, Indigenous-led, site-specific contemporary performance fusing traditional First Nations dance, storytelling and contemporary circus telling the important dreamtime story of how the birds got their colours. This show is a collaboration between ARC Circus and Luther Cora and his team from Yugambeh Aboriginal Dancers.

Les moutons
Forecourt: 7 – 11 October | All ages
(CANADA)
Toronto-based CORPUS takes you to a strange and hilarious universe with their carefully studied, surrealistic yet accurate interpretation of sheep behaviour. This wordless live performance recreates a bucolic country scene where three healthy ewes and a young ram go through their daily routine of shearing, feeding, milking and … sheeping.

FREE WORKSHOPS:
In creative collaboration with Apple, New York-based Australian artists Tin & Ed will lead workshops powered by iPad and Apple Pencil. Inspiring creativity with augmented reality, kids and families will explore the extraordinary biodiversity and interconnected ecosystems of the Great Barrier Reef.

The Wild Things International Kids Festival takes place at the Sydney Opera House from 26 September – 11 October 2026. For more information, visit: www.sydneyoperahouse.com for details.