Sydney Festival

Day 1 | Wednesday 21 January
Arrival | Mama Does Derby
In the late afternoon, we gather in the hotel lobby for an introductory lecture, accompanied by a glass of wine or bubbles. Light refreshments will be served before we make our way by tram to Sydney Town Hall for the first of our Festival performances. Here we experience the world premiere of Mama Does Derby – a high-octane, heartwarming story of a single mother and her teenage daughter finding connection in the exhilarating world of roller derby. Created by writer and performer Virginia Gay and director Clare Watson, this action-packed production transforms the grand Victorian interior of Town Hall into a full-scale derby track – complete with trackside seats, a live band and real athletes – blending theatre and sport into a thrilling spectacle. Overnight Sydney

Day 2 | Thursday 22 January
Tales of Sydney | Dear Son and Madama Butterfly
This morning we embark on a heritage walking tour through the heart of the city, led by Brad Manera, Senior Historian and Curator at Sydney’s Anzac Memorial. Our journey takes us from Martin Place to St James’ Church – described by Dr Craig Wilcox in Redcoat Dreaming as Australia’s first war memorial. From there, we cross to view the Hyde Park Barracks, the historic Rum Hospital (now The Mint) and explore the colonial Macquarie St precinct. Following a break for lunch, we then travel by light rail to Belvoir Street Theatre for an afternoon performance of Dear Son. Adapted from Thomas Mayo’s acclaimed anthology, this moving production celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fathers and sons through a series of powerful letters, brought to life by a cast including Jimi Bani, Waangenga Blanco and Aaron Pedersen. After time to freshen up at our hotel, we dine at one of Sydney’s fine restaurants before continuing to the Sydney Opera House for Opera Australia’s production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Presented in Moffatt Oxenbould’s award-winning staging, this timeless tale of love and tragedy features soprano Guanqun Yu as Cio-Cio-San. Overnight Sydney (B, D)

Day 3 | Friday 23 January
Art Gallery of NSW | LACRIMA
This morning we make our way to the Art Gallery of New South Wales to view the major exhibition of works by contemporary sculptor Ron Mueck. The largest exhibition by the artist ever to be presented in Australia, it will comprise sculptures drawn from across the globe. At its heart is a new immersive work created for the occasion, Havoc. Enigmatic, menacing and intense, this is a monumental work of disquieting power that will draw us into an intimate and ominous space. Lunch is then enjoyed at Crafted by Matt Moran, a relaxed dining experience inside the Gallery, followed by an afternoon at leisure. We reconvene in the early evening, making our way to Walsh Bay’s Roslyn Packer Theatre for LACRIMA – an ambitious new work by acclaimed director and playwright Caroline Guiela Nguyen. Before the curtain rises, we join the Director of the Festival a pre-show talk offering rare insight into this sweeping international production, which unfolds around the creation of a royal wedding gown. Performed in French, Tamil, English and sign language, with surtitles, LACRIMA combines cinematic staging with emotional intimacy to illuminate the unseen human stories stitched into fashion’s grandeur. Overnight Sydney (B, L)

Day 4 | Saturday 24 January
Chau Chak Wing Museum
A visit to the University of Sydney’s Chau Chak Wing Museum, a striking contemporary building that brings together the Nicholson, Macleay and University Art collections under one roof, completes our program. Home to the largest assemblage of antiquities in the Southern Hemisphere, the museum offers a remarkable window onto world history. A specialist from the University’s Near Eastern Archaeology Foundation (NEAF) guides us through the galleries. Following our visit, we return to the hotel where the tour concludes. (B)