Sydney Opera House Announces 2020 Family Shows

The Sydney Opera House today announced the 2020 suite of shows for its acclaimed Kids and Families program. Featuring exciting new works including homegrown and international theatre shows, circus and live music performances, the diverse, humorous and poignant 2020 program will inspire children of all ages and their families to learn how friendships, being brave and stepping into someone else's shoes can change the world.

Summer school holidays

• Twin doctors Chris and Xand from hit ABC TV show Operation Ouch! will present crazy new experiments and amazing facts about the body (ages 6+);
• Eric Hill's beloved and curious Spot comes to life on stage with colourful puppetry, songs and puzzles (ages 2+);
• Intrigue and mystery lurks in Emil and the Detectives when something valuable is stolen from Emil, a stage adaptation of the 1929 novella by Erich Kästner (ages 8+);
• A celebration of adventure, friendship and love in David Walliams' The Midnight Gang (ages 6+);
• Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's much-loved picture book The Snail and the Whale brought vividly to life through live music, storytelling and lots of laughs (ages 4+); and
• A co-presentation with Sydney Festival of Laser Beak Man, a joyful 90-minutes of puppetry, eye-popping staging, live music, animation and dad jokes that cover themes of inclusivity, humanity and self-love (ages 8+).

Literary adaptations

• Much-loved classic and contemporary literature will come to life in April with storytime favourite The Gruffalo's Child bringing monstrous fun to the Playhouse (ages 3+); and
• The Sydney premiere of the hilarious Charlie and the War Against the Grannies, written by and starring Spicks and Specks' Alan Brough, follows best friends who battle an evil league of grannies plotting to take over the world in a rampaging musical comedy (ages 5+).

Gravity-defying new circus

• The Sydney premiere of Circuit, a new pulsating digital circus from the creators of smash-hit 360 ALLSTARS that welds cutting-edge tech with daring physical stunts (ages 5+); and
• Cirque Stratosphere, a spectacular new circus featuring gravity-defying acts on a scale never seen before at the Opera House. It will transform the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall into a futuristic space-age utopia for a strictly limited season in December (all ages).

Heartfelt theatre

• Masterful puppetry with sustainability at its heart takes centre stage in Escape from Trash Mountain, transforming a mountain of (actual) garbage into a cave of wonder using the power of collaboration and mindful consumption (ages 6+);
• Henry Naylor's Games is "a relevant and necessary reminder to learn from the mistakes of the past" (Limelight) and recounts the controversial her-story of two Jewish sportswomen who represented Germany in the 1936 Olympics, at the height of Hitler's rule (ages 13+); and
• A contemporary space saga in the dystopic Ishmael, presented by the internationally-acclaimed Dead Puppet Society, where Herman Melville's beloved classic Moby Dick is reimagined in a time when Earth's resources are rapidly depleting (ages 12+).

Live music

• The charming Teeny Tiny Stevies come to the Opera House and debut brand new songs about the joyous journey of growing up (ages 0-6);
• The wonderful introduction to live music and instruments for our littlest audience members, Kids Music Café runs from February - December 2020 for bubs full of beans (ages 0-2); and
• The Australian Chamber Orchestra will reinterpret Mem Fox's Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge in an Australian premiere (ages 3+).

Sydney Opera House Director of Programming, Fiona Winning, says: "We're thrilled about the variety of performances on offer for families next year at the Sydney Opera House with a jam-packed program that will entertain while embracing global issues such as sustainability, the importance of empathy and intercultural learning. With the Concert Hall closing in February to undergo major upgrades, our program of inspiring, fun and engaging experiences for families ensures this remarkable building continues to inspire the next generation of artists, audiences and visitors."

The free, immersive Creative Play returns to the Western Foyers with hands-on artworks and creative experiences to inspire the inner artist in every child. For those curious about what happens behind-the-scenes, the Junior Adventure Tour is on during every school holidays, taking little (and big) explorers beneath the sails of the Opera House to learn all about how the magic of theatre, music and arts comes to life on stage.

Australia - Sydney Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. MJ THE MUSICAL (Sydney Lyric Theatre)

8.1% of votes

2. THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (Gosford Musical Society)

6.9% of votes

3. A CHORUS LINE (Curtain Bounce)

6.4% of votes

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