The Ten Best Sydney Festival Events That Will Give You the Most Bang for Your Buck

Carriageworks is bringing back About an Hour for Sydney Festival with seven fantastic shows at the even more fantastic price of $35. Each performance will run around 60 minutes, and the showcase will include both local and international acts, from classical music and theatre to hip hop and acrobatics. Our must-see on the list is the international show from Japan’s Okazaki Art Theatre, +51 Aviación, San Borja. Directed by Yudai Kamisato, this peculiar and eccentric portrayal of life in Japan is not to be missed.

An incredibly cool freebie, this whimsical fairground is just as much for adults as it is for kids. Think a Ferris wheel fitted out with toilet seats and a bicycle-powered carousel, all of which are made with recycled objects. The vision for the installation was created by a collective of artisans led by Jordà Ferré and Oscar de Paz, and is just one piece of the free summer nights at Parramatta’s Alfred Square.

Now this is a playground for the ages. January’s Sydney Festival will see the brand new Cutaway at Barangaroo Reserve house one of the largest community events in festival’s 40 years. Olivier Grossetête’s The Ephemeral City invites Sydneysiders to use boxes and tape to create a temporary city — one which will be excitedly demolished come Australia Day. This unprecedented project also includes a free Flying Fox zipline, a projection of Shaun Gladwell’s Skateboarders vs Minimalism and a full audio-visual experience at Gallery Hour. The best part? The entire Barangaroo program is absolutely free.

This moving Aboriginal story is the directorial debut feature film from Stephen Page, from the highly acclaimed Bangarra Dance Theatre. The theatre troupe brings their incredible dance moves to the screen in SPEAR, creating a visually stimulating and intimate piece of art. The film follows the cultural connection of the Aboriginal people, from the Australian outback to Sydney’s backstreets. It’s an outright powerful film showing at Sydney’s most iconic venue — and at only $25 a ticket.

A psychedelic, space-rock show like no other, The Flaming Lips have been putting on incredible live acts for three decades. Their music is meant for an outdoor festival stage, and for Sydney Festival 2016, they’ll be playing out in the open at The Domain — for free. No catch. For the fanatics out there who want to get up close and personal, there is also $50 VIP access passes on sale now, which allows you to jump the queues and sit front-of-stage. Fifty bucks for premium viewing of one of the best live acts around? Now that’s a VIP event we can get on board with.

This tell-all is certainly one of the most daring performances on offer at Sydney Festival this year. All the Sex I’ve Ever Had stars a group of Sydney’s local over 65s, who will share their wisdom and real-life stories of romance and sex. Created by the team behind Haircuts by Children (which showed at Sydney Festival back in 2008), this show will be packed with plenty of laughs and tender moments for adults of all ages.

One of the most iconic performances of Sydney Festival, this show gives the public free access to what would, in usual circumstance, be an expensive night out. Enjoy the sounds of Sydney Symphony Orchestra and celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sydney Festival with a ‘best of’ from the performances the orchestra has played throughout the years. For the ruby anniversary of the festival, all attendees are asked to dress in red — so pack a picnic, don your ruby slippers and enjoy a glamorous night with your loved ones. All for free.

This brilliant dance troupe hails from Elcho Island and their style combines traditional Indigenous culture with contemporary dance. Their storytelling through movement is spectacular, and will likely be one of the most stunning performances of the festival. Held in the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, this is sure to be a high-energy event — and with tickets around the $40 mark, Djuki Mala‘s well worth the funds.

If you enjoyed the drum-heavy, jazz score of 2014’s Birdman then you’ll love getting to hear drummer and composer Antonio Sanchez perform his score live alongside the Oscar-winning film. A four-time Grammy Award winner himself, this is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a bloody great movie coupled with incredible live jazz. Sanchez’s performance will be improvised, just as it is in the film. While a showing will take place at the State Theatre in the CBD, insiders are headed to the Lennox Theatre in Parramatta, where tickets are only $49 a pop.

Real keen to get your Sydney Festival on? If you buy in bulk, the festival folks will give you a bit of a discount. Just book three or more events at the same time, and they’ll give you 10-15 per cent off the total price. Multipack discounts apply to all events, but have limited availability — so grab them while you can. For all the ins and outs, visit their website.