CARRIAGEWORKS TURNS UP THE HEAT WITH EPIC NEW SUMMER PROGRAM
- The Famous Spiegeltent set to sparkle inside Carriageworks´ Bay 17 as Briefs Factory International take over with CLUB BRIEFS: The Works.
- A huge live music program will draw over 30,000 fans to the precinct.
- Australian circus and dance artists including Gravity & Other Myths, Sydney Dance Company and NAISDA makes up the Carriageworks Moves program.
- Summer Moves is your chance to get up on the dance floor with (mostly) free events from hip hop to roller discos.
Sydney, Australia: Carriageworks, located on Gadigal Country, will turn into a creative playground with the newly unveiled Carriageworks Summer – an exciting, expansive lineup of circus, live music, dance, food, markets, drag cabaret, free events and more. Running from November to January, this vibrant, new program promises to turn up the heat this summer, inviting everyone to join the celebration and bask in the abundance of creativity on offer.
Carriageworks CEO, Fergus Linehan, said: “Carriageworks Summer is an invitation to everyone to celebrate the joy of Sydney’s favourite season. We are proud to celebrate Australia´s incredible dance, circus and cabaret artists in a program for all ages. But we also want you to interact with art and artists and join in with dance classes and unforgettable parties. We can´t wait to welcome you to Carriageworks this summer.”
From 23 Nov – 15 Dec, The Famous Spiegeltent takes over Carriageworks’ Bay 17, creating a magical world within the industrial space. The historic and ornate traveling venue, with its mirrored walls and stained glass throughout, will host extraordinary nights of cabaret, music and circus in a setting straight out of a dream.
The infamous misfits of Briefs Factory International are back and ready to dazzle inside The Famous Spiegeltent from 27 Nov – 15 Dec with CLUB BRIEFS: The Works, a new twist on their high-energy show blending gutsy burlesque, daring circus, flamboyant drag and cutting-edge performance art set to a pumping dance floor soundtrack. This is the ultimate lineup of Briefs boys at their best: Fez Faanana as the outrageous MC, King of Burlesque Captain Kidd, the gravity-defying Rowan Thomas on the Cyr wheel, acrobatic drag artist Nastia, pole virtuoso Benjamin Butterfly, and aerial extraordinaire Thomas Worrell.
But that’s not all – each week brings a superstar guest to raise the stakes and keep audiences on the edge of their seats and laughing all night. Week 1 ignites with Rhys Lightning, Australia’s Boylesque babe electrifying the stage with athleticism and cheeky charm. Week 2 will see former Miss Burlesque Australia, Diesel Darling step into the spotlight to deliver a daring and seductive act. In Week 3, the one and only Betty Grumble takes over with her wild, irreverent mix of comedy, performance art, and drag for an unforgettable finale.
Carriageworks will be buzzing as we welcome more families this summer with thrilling performances, immersive experiences and more, starting with Australia’s world-renowned Flying Fruit Fly Circus, whose talented young artists will soar through the air inside The Famous Spiegeltent in the premiere of Live and Famous, a magical cabaret cocktail for the whole family (23 Nov – 1 Dec). Then, from 30 Nov – 15 Dec, step into the free, interactive world of Creature by Box of Birds/Stalker Theatre, where 360-degree projections and guided storytelling bring Australia’s animals and habitats to life.
Get your dancing shoes ready! Carriageworks will present Summer Moves, a new high-energy and (mostly) free dance program throughout November and December, that will transform the space into a vibrant hub for participatory dance events for everyone. Highlights include a Roller Disco on 16 Nov, where the pros from RollerFit will teach a family-friendly disco-skating session followed by an adults-only disco party, and a Parai Attam dance class with BINDI BOSSES on 7 Dec, blending Hip Hop and South Asian moves. On 17 Nov, Sydney street dance crew Stale Biskitz will host popping workshops and a 2v2 battle, and No Lights No Lycra’s will release inhibitions with its signature dance-in-the-dark experience on 14 Dec. Summer Moves is presented in partnership with the City of Sydney, with more events to be announced soon including a Latin dance and salsa party.
Heating up the joyous collection of dance, circus and cabaret as part of Carriageworks Summer, Gravity & Other Myths will see seven acrobats push their physical limits in raw and exhilarating performances of the multi award-winning A Simple Space (5-9 Nov), and acclaimed Australian choreographer Nick Power will invite you to step into the spirit of the legendary block parties of 1970s New York with Deejay x Dancer (14-16 Nov).
From 21-23 Nov, NAISDA will debut the trees have voices, the feet have ears, the highly anticipated end-of-year performance season featuring leading First Nations choreographers, dance artists and storytellers, and Sydney Dance Company’s New Breed returns to Carriageworks from 4-14 Dec to showcase the future of contemporary dance with four world premiere performances.
Following a stacked line up of live music as part of Vivid Sydney, Carriageworks Sounds returns for the summer with a slate of energising and uplifting shows. In December, Carriageworks will host two nights of deep house and techno with EDM legend Solomun (6-7 Dec), the long-anticipated Australian return of critically acclaimed musician and DJ Jamie xx (8-9 Dec), and an evening of divinely feminine hard techno with Sara Landry (14 Dec). Keeping the tempo up into the new year, world-renowned DJ and producer Boris Brejcha will take to the stage on 18 Jan, and Teletech 004 (1 Feb) will feature heavyweight DJs Azyr, Jazzy, Vendex and Emma Moon. Plus, more shows to be announced.
Carriageworks continues its commitment to being a place for artists and makers to connect with independently minded audiences. The SOUTHEAST Aboriginal Arts Market (23-24 Nov) returns with independent Aboriginal artists and collectives showcasing thousands of traditional and contemporary artworks for sale, as well as a free public program of workshops and talks. Alongside this, Indigiearth founder and Ngemba Weilwan culinary expert Sharon Winsor returns from 22-24 Nov to celebrate modern Australian native cuisine with a pop-up dining experience.
Carriageworks welcomes back The Finders Keepers Sydney Design Market (15-17 Nov) featuring more than 180 of Australia’s finest designers and makers of ceramics, art, jewellery, homewares and slow fashion, and ArchiPro’s Home Design Evening (8 Nov) will bring together Australia’s leading architects, builders and designers. The precinct will also host Klook’s first-ever consumer travel event, Klook Travel Fest (30 Nov), promising inspiration for travellers on their next big adventure.
The much-loved Carriageworks Farmers Markets continues on Saturdays throughout the summer, with two special events in December. Carriageworks’ Summer Seasonal Market on 7 Dec will offer freshly cut Christmas trees, summer produce, cooking demos from Flour and Stone, Demoiselle Distillery, and Crustacean Nation, plus hands-on workshops. On 21 Dec, the Carriageworks Christmas Market will expand into Bays 22-24 with over 100 stalls offering fresh produce, food-related gifts, and holiday feast essentials, alongside ready-to-eat options and DJs spinning festive tunes.
Carriageworks’ food program continues with World Vegan Day 2024 (2 Nov) inviting visitors to celebrate plant-powered living with vegan meals, cooking demos, eco-wares and more, and The Good Food & Wine Show Christmas Market (22-24 Nov) with over 150 producers offering the best in artisan food, wine, and curated products for gifting and entertaining. Additionally, the precinct will host Dine Off the Tracks (29 Nov), a unique new farm-to-table feast featuring seasonal produce from the Carriageworks Farmers Market prepared by some of Australia’s most respected chefs.
Throughout the year, Carriageworks Makers provides support for artists to create and develop new work. On 27 Nov, Carriageworks’ resident company Contemporary Asian Australian Performance (CAAP) will present five bold new works, across different disciplines at the annual Longhouse: Works In Progress, inviting audiences to meet the makers behind these boundary-pushing creations and celebrate the exceptional talent of Asian Australian artists. While from 4-15 Nov, Force Majeure’s INCITE Intensive artist development program offers an invaluable deep-dive into multidisciplinary collaboration, development of personal artistic practice, and how to harness dramaturgy in movement-based devising.
In January, Sydney Festival returns to Carriageworks, with Justin Talplacido Shoulder’s mythic world of hybrid creatures which come to life through dance, theatre and installations in ANITO (15-18 Jan), and Musica Viva Australia, one of Australia’s leading presenters of chamber music make their Carriageworks debut with a special presentation of The Cage Project (23-25 Jan), a large-scale kinetic sound sculpture by Matthias Schack-Arnott under which acclaimed French pianist Cédric Tiberghien will perform.
The Carriageworks Summer Program can be found here. Tickets are on sale now, and registrations are open for free events.
Watch the Carriageworks Summer trailer here.