Carriageworks announces line-up of unmissable festivals, performances and events

One of Australia’s leading contemporary creative hubs, Carriageworks, is set to ignite Sydney’s cultural calendar with an extraordinary line-up of festivals, performances, and events.

From May, the precinct transforms into a vibrant gathering place, inviting audiences to experience the power of storytelling, innovation, and community through a dynamic program of arts and culture.

Carriageworks is once again home to three of Sydney’s most iconic festivals. Australian Fashion Council’s Australian Fashion Week (12 – 16 May) will showcase Australian fashion talent in a refreshed and revitalised format for 2025.

Sydney Writers’ Festival (19 – 25 May) returns with a series of stimulating talks and enlightening discussions with local and international experts, and Vivid Sydney (May – June), now in its 15th year, invites everyone to dream big and immerse themselves in new experiences over 23 days and nights of art and innovation.

From June, powerful performances created by world-class Australian talent take centre stage as the Carriageworks Winter program brings together bold voices, passionate storytelling, and unforgettable performances across theatre, music and dance.

With the new Carriageworks Winter Multibuy, audiences can experience multiple shows in the winter program and save, making it easier than ever to explore the program’s standout productions.

After worldwide success, from the West End to Broadway, the Australian masterpiece Prima Facie makes its triumphant return to Sydney from 2-12 July in a new production directed by Kate Champion and starring Sof Forrest, from Black Swan State Theatre Company.

Winner of the 2023 Olivier Award for Best New Play, this electrifying one-person play by Suzie Miller follows Tessa, a brilliant defence barrister turned complainant, in an emotionally gripping courtroom drama that challenges theatre audiences to consider the treatment of women within the legal system and the profound need for change in the pursuit of true justice.

Awarded Best New Australian Work at this year’s Sydney Theatre Awards and hot on the heels of its American premiere, Trophy Boys takes up residence at Carriageworks from 23 July – 3 August. Playfully and powerfully interrogating the well documented toxic masculinity, misogyny and homophobia of Australia’s ‘elite’ private boys’ schools, Trophy Boys lays bare the pipeline from schoolboy to the highest offices of authority.

A razor-sharp black comedy about power, privilege and high school debating written by Emmanuelle Mattana and directed by Marni Mount, this celebrated work from Soft Tread and The Maybe Pile is performed by a female and non-binary cast using queer methodologies and drag.

Following their critically acclaimed production of Jack Symonds’  Gilgamesh, Carriageworks’ resident company  Sydney Chamber Opera  (SCO), in association with Omega Ensemble, will present the world premiere of Aphrodite (20 – 28 June) by US composer  Nico Muhly  and Australian playwright Laura Lethlean.

This biting contemporary opera channels the Aphrodite myth to ask: does our focus on beauty become so preoccupying that we remove ourselves from the human connection that attraction promises? Alexander Berlage directs frequent SCO collaborator Jessica O’Donoghue and Puerto Rican soprano Meechot Marrero (excitingly making her Australian debut) in this unmissable collaboration.

From 10 – 12 July, Australian Dance Theatre’s bracingly honest Marrow will make its Sydney debut. Created in the wake of the failed Voice referendum by Wiradjuri man Daniel Riley in collaboration with Australian Dance Theatre’s Company Artists, senior Kaurna/Ngarrindjeri Elder Uncle Moogy Sumner AM, composer James Howard, Matthew Adey and Ailsa Patterson, Marrow sifts through the smoky forms of our national conscience to imagine a bold collective future for us all.

2025 marks the 10th anniversary of Carriageworks’ Solid Ground initiative in partnership with Blacktown Arts, which provides education and employment pathways for First Nations young people in the arts. The only program of its kind in Australia, Solid Ground enables students to connect with culture and discover their own creative practice under the mentorship of selected practicing artists and cultural leaders.

This year’s artists in residence include rapper and host of triple j’s Blak Out Nooky, weaver & visual artist Peta-Joy Williams, and singer songwriter Akala Newman. The students will present their mid-year works at Carriageworks for their NAIDOC exhibition in July.

“Carriageworks continues its evolution with an outstanding program of shows, festivals, conferences and markets.  We are delighted to introduce new producing partners to the precinct as well as welcoming back some of Sydney’s best loved events. We can’t wait for you to be a part of it,” said Carriageworks CEO, Fergus Linehan.

Carriageworks continues its commitment to being a place for dedicated communities to come together with several design, tech and innovation events. The Sunrise festival of creativity and technology for the start-up community (30 April – 1 May), and The Finders Keepers Design Market (2 – 4 May) with Australia’s best designers and makers together in one place.

SPOKEN (20 – 22 June) celebrates bicycle design and culture, FRMEFEST (19 – 20 July) is the premier photography and videography convention elevating the art of visual creation, and the M2 AI Summit (6 August) will explore AI and technology.

Carriageworks also welcomes a number of new events to the precinct this year, including a curation of 120 vintage fashion sellers at the Second Life Markets (2 March) and Mumbrella360 (28-29 May), Australia’s biggest media and marketing event.

The much-loved Carriageworks Farmers Markets continues every Saturday from 8am-1pm year-round, accompanied by a range of seasonal programs throughout the year.

The Autumn Seasonal Market (8 March) and the Winter Seasonal Market (14 June) will welcome each change in the weather with the best new produce alongside live cooking demonstrations, hands-on workshops and food talks.

Further highlights of the winter program, including Carriageworks’ Vivid Sydney line-up, will be announced in the coming weeks, with Carriageworks’ program for September onwards to be revealed later in the year as the precinct continues its signature blend of immersive cultural experiences.