We welcome all visitors to Sydney Festival events and make every effort to ensure the program is accessible to our whole audience.
We would like to thank the members of the Sydney Festival Access and Inclusion Advisory Panel for their expert advice and advocacy:
Coral Arnold
Morwenna Collett
Riana Head-Toussaint
Julie Jones
Greg Killeen
Vanessa Lucas
Naomi Malone
Liz Martin
Paul Nunnari
AUDIO DESCRIPTION
Audio description is a service provided for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Audio describers give live, verbal descriptions of actions, costumes, scenery, and other visual elements of a performance. This is done during gaps in the dialogue via a small earpiece, provided to patrons pre-show. The audio description begins 10 minutes prior to the performance and provides program details together with descriptions of costumes and stage settings. Patrons must book the service in advance and pick up a free FM headset on arrival.
TACTILE TOURS
Tactile tours allow patrons who are blind or have low vision to have a hands-on experience. Depending on the production/installation, patrons are given access to costumes, props and stage set in order to capture the atmosphere of the work. Tactile tours occur before the performance. Patrons must book in advance.
An American classic for an Australia at the crossroads. What’s to be scared of?
Sydney Opera House
22 January, 2pm (audio description during show, tactile tour commences at 1pm)
Tune in to the voices of Australia’s nocturnal soul in a mysterious listening club.
National Art School
12–23 January (A pre-recorded Audio Description introduction will be available closer to January, no tactile tour)
AUDITORY CONTENT
Shows with this symbol indicate which shows are highly auditory and have low visual content, which can aid people who are blind or have low vision decide whether they can access a show.
- The Cat Empire (Unfortunately, The Cat Empire at The Crescent, Parramatta Park, has been cancelled due to the impacts of COVID-19)
- Speakers Corner
- Sydney Symphony Under the Stars (Postponed due to the current COVID-19 situation and changes to public health orders)
- The Nightline
- The Reckoning
- Acoustic Life of Boatsheds
- Night of the Soul
- Katie Noonan: The Sweetest Taboo
SHOW PROGRAMS
Where applicable, show programs are available via the relevant event pages as an accessible Word document.
ASSISTANCE ANIMALS
Assistance animals are welcome at all Festival events and venues, bookings are essential. If you are blind or have low vision and want to attend an event at Sydney Festival, Guide Dogs NSW/ACT can provide you with free training on how to travel safely from any location to your event at the Festival. Call 1800 804 805 to discuss your travel needs.
AUSLAN INTERPRETED PERFORMANCE
Auslan interpreted performances are for audiences who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing and use Australian Sign Language (Auslan). Experienced Auslan theatre interpreters stand to the side of the stage and interpret dialogue and any text into Auslan, signing live. Audiences requiring this service are seated in the section closest to the interpreter to ensure good sightlines.
44 Sex Acts in One Week
Girl meets boy. Girl hates boy. Girl f***s boy 44 ways while the world collapses.
Seymour Centre
15 January, 2pm
A Chorus Line
New steps and a fierce sense of purpose for music theatre’s singular sensation.
Riverside Theatres
14 January, 7.30pm
Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
An American classic for an Australia at the crossroads. What’s to be scared of?
Sydney Opera House
19 January, 7pm
Girl From The North Country
The magic of theatre meets the music of Bob Dylan in this critically acclaimed modern masterpiece.
Theatre Royal Sydney
18 January, 6.30pm
Lost in Shanghai
Renowned journalist Jane Hutcheon retraces her mother’s childhood footsteps through a China long gone.
Seymour Centre
16 January, 3.30pm
Qween Lear
Qween Lear is a fierce and fabulous musical adaptation of King Lear, set over one wild night in ancient Sydney - before the Olympics.
Hordern Pavillion
7 January, 7pm - (Season cancelled due to COVID)
small metal objects
Unfolding amid the flurry of suits and seagulls across Customs House square, this intimate drama focuses on the stories that pass us by.
Customs House Forecourt
23 January, 11.30am (Cancelled)
Unfortunately, the season of small metal objects by interstate company Back to Back Theatre has been cancelled, due to the impacts of COVID-19.
宿 (stay)
Part concert, part story, part ceremony, 宿 (stay) tells of the invisible ties that bind us, across country, continents and millennia.
Carriageworks
15 January, 8.30pm
CAPTIONING
For people who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing, theatre captioning is an accurate text display of a theatre performance in its entirety, including actors’ dialogue, ad libs, song lyrics, musical descriptions and other sound effects. Displayed on screens at the side of the stage and/or via the GoTheatrical! mobile app.
Green Park
Past lives and present longing collide as dusk falls over this acclaimed slice of park noir.
Green Park
28 January, 7.45pm
Lizzie
A revenge tale for our times set to a blistering score, with a sound owing less to Sondheim and Andrew Lloyd Webber than to Bikini Kill, the Runaways, and Hole.
Hayes Theatre
27 January, 7.30pm
ASSISTIVE LISTENING
The Assistive Listening Systems symbol indicates which venues provide hearing augmentation and amplification. Ensure you inform us when booking so you can be seated in the relevant area of the theatre.
Assistive listening systems / hearing loops available at:
VISUAL CONTENT
A guide for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing.
100% visual content. Contains no music or dialogue.
- Dean Cross: Icarus, my son
- Destination Sydney: The natural world
- Future Dreaming
- Happy Objects
- Matisse: Life and Spirit
- Unsettled
75% visual content. Fully captioned or has minimal dialogue, some background music and/or sounds.
- Airship Orchestra
- Cherine Fahd: Ecdysis
- Decadance
- DEMO (Cancelled due to confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in cast)
- Fluffy
- Grey Rhino
- Prehistoric Picnic
- THAW
- The Construct
- The Pulse
- Yung Lung
- ZOOOM (Cancelled due to the impacts of COVID-19)
RELAXED
Designed for patrons with disability and their families or anyone who may benefit from a more relaxed environment (this may include people with a learning or physical disability, autistic spectrum condition or sensory sensitivities). Relaxed performances usually have slight modifications to sound and lighting, support aids and an open-door policy with a dedicated quiet area.
A Chorus Line
New steps and a fierce sense of purpose for music theatre’s singular sensation.
Riverside Theatres
15 January, 2pm
Fluffy
Crunch, roll, rip and fluff in this fluttering wonderland of shredded paper. Fluffy is an interactive show and free-play environment where mess is beautiful and imagination runs amok.
Carriageworks
19 January, 1pm
22–23 January, 9.30am
Lost in Shanghai
Renowned journalist Jane Hutcheon retraces her mother’s childhood footsteps through a China long gone.
Seymour Centre
16 January, 3.30pm
Perahu-Perahu
Intricate cut-outs trip the light fantastic in this enchanting work of shadow theatre and music exploring our bond with the sea.
Carriageworks
15 January, 1pm
Prehistoric Picnic
There’s nothing like a good bit of lawn for a dinosaur to stretch its legs and do all the things a dinosaur’s gotta do. Watch it all as a family, from the safety of your picnic rug.
11 January, 11am at The Crescent, Parramatta Park
18 January, 9am at Pioneer Garden, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney
Sydney Festival ensures that its venues are as physically accessible as possible.
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS
The wheelchair symbol indicates the venue/location is wheelchair accessible or has been made accessible for Sydney Festival. Designated wheelchair spaces (where available) will be sold at the lowest full price in the house for that performance. For access information on specific venues visit sydneyfestival.org.au/venues.
Bookings are essential for all accessible services.
Bookings for Auslan-interpreted and captioned performances can be made online by entering the promotional code SF22ACCESS during purchase. Bookings for tactile tours & headsets for audio described performances can be made via contacting out customer service team.
We encourage booking tickets prior to Friday 17 December. Seats cannot be guaranteed after this date although we will always do your best to accommodate our request.
To discuss your access requirements, make bookings or give us feedback call 02 8248 6500 or email access@sydneyfestival.org.au
Sydney Festival supports the Companion Card program. Companion Card holders qualify for a second ticket at no cost for their companion. Please contact Sydney Festival directly on 02 8248 6500 to assist with your booking.
Your feedback helps us continue to improve our access program and services. Please get in touch with us on 02 8248 6500 or access@sydneyfestival.org.au if you have any queries or suggestions regarding accessibility at Sydney Festival.
