Wild Things International Kids Festival will bring world-class performances, free outdoor experiences and creative workshops to the Sydney Opera House from 26 September to 11 October 2026.
As spring settles across Sydney Harbour, families will once again find themselves drawn to the broad sandstone steps and sweeping sails of the Sydney Opera House. During the school holidays, one of Australia's most recognisable landmarks will take on a different rhythm as children race across the Forecourt, giant swings rise above the harbour, and theatre spills beyond traditional stages into outdoor spaces designed for curiosity and play.
From 26 September to 11 October 2026, Wild Things International Kids Festival will make its debut at the Sydney Opera House, inviting children and grown-ups alike to discover stories from around the world through theatre, circus, puppetry, music, workshops and free public experiences. Rather than presenting children's entertainment as something separate from the wider arts, the festival will celebrate imagination as a shared experience, creating opportunities for families to explore together in one of Sydney's most remarkable settings.
Wild Things International Kids Festival Brings the World to Sydney
Across sixteen days, Wild Things International Kids Festival will welcome acclaimed artists and companies from Australia, Europe, North America and Asia, creating a program that reflects the diversity of contemporary performance for young audiences.
The festival will present Australian premieres, world premieres and original productions inspired by cultures, landscapes and stories from across the globe. Audiences will journey through forests, oceans, Antarctica, outer space and ancient traditions, discovering performances that draw inspiration from Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Canada, Syria and Australia's First Nations communities.
Set against the backdrop of Sydney Harbour, the festival offers families an opportunity to experience international storytelling without leaving the city.
Wild Things International Kids Festival Extends Beyond the Stage
One of the defining features of Wild Things International Kids Festival will be the way it transforms the Sydney Opera House itself.
Throughout the festival, the Forecourt will become a free outdoor playground where giant installations, interactive artworks and live performances encourage visitors to pause, participate and play. The towering SWING installation will invite people of all ages to rediscover childhood, while Iwagumi Air Scape will illuminate the public space with glowing sculptural forms inspired by balance and nature.
Outdoor performances including the Taiwanese circus production Puzzle, Indigenous-led Living Sculptures: How the Birds Got Their Colours, and the whimsical Canadian production Les moutons will blur the boundaries between theatre and public space, ensuring that even visitors without tickets can become part of the festival atmosphere.
The result will be an Opera House that feels less like a destination to visit and more like a place to explore.
Stories for Every Age
The strength of Wild Things International Kids Festival lies in its breadth.
The program has been carefully designed to welcome children from infancy through to early teens, with performances tailored to different stages of childhood while remaining engaging for accompanying adults.
Babies will experience gentle productions such as Be Kind and Volatile Ombré, where movement, music and sensory storytelling create intimate theatrical experiences. Younger children can enjoy imaginative adventures including ZOOOM, Handa's Surprise, Waiting! and Grand Soft Day, each bringing beloved stories and original ideas to life through puppetry, projections, physical theatre and live music.
Older audiences will encounter more reflective works including The Longest Nights, We Come From Far, Far Away and Cookies, Ann, Cream, productions that explore friendship, migration, identity and discovery through inventive theatrical forms.
Together, these performances demonstrate the growing richness of theatre created specifically for young audiences.
Creativity Beyond Performance
Alongside the theatre program, Wild Things International Kids Festival will encourage children to become creators themselves.
Creative workshops throughout the festival will invite families to experiment with storytelling, making and digital technology. A special collaboration with Apple will see artists Tin & Ed lead augmented reality workshops exploring the ecosystems of the Great Barrier Reef using iPad and Apple Pencil technology.
Elsewhere, free tinkering sessions inspired by the production Tinker Tales! will encourage hands-on creativity, reminding visitors that imagination often begins through experimentation rather than instruction.
These workshops reinforce one of the festival's central ideas: that creativity is something to participate in rather than simply observe.
Event Details
Event: Wild Things International Kids Festival
Dates: 26 September – 11 October 2026
Location: Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney NSW
Tickets: Performances from $49 and under. Group discounts available for four or more tickets. Free Forecourt experiences available daily.
Official Website: https://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/wild-things