Sydney Opera House's Kids Summer Season

Sydney — Wednesday 22 October 2025

The Sydney Opera House has unveiled an exhilarating summer school holiday program packed with six weeks of international theatre, music, storytelling and free artist-led play spaces. The dynamic line-up of local and international premiere productions, installations and workshops will ignite imagination and foster creativity in young audiences.

Highlights include fresh adaptations of beloved classics: the NSW premiere of Mem Fox and Judy Horacek’s beloved classic Where is the Green Sheep? by Monkey Baa Theatre Company, and the Australian premiere of Pirates Love Underpants from the UK’s Norwell Lapley Productions. For the first time in Australia and presented with Sydney Festival, Rothar by Ireland’s Branar Téatar do Pháistí is a poetic work where bicycles become instruments of storytelling, sound and memory.

The Opera House’s purpose-built Centre for Creativity will host TOO~B, a multisensory, free play space created by multidisciplinary Australian artist HOSSEI, as well as creative development showings of a new Korean-Australian music performance The Longest Night, bringing the Korean musical artform of Pansori to Australian audiences for the first time.

Sydney Opera House Head of Children, Families and Creative Learning, Tamara Harrison says: “A long summer break calls for big adventures and playful discoveries. This season brings to life a world of adventure with underpants-stealing pirates, a runaway green sheep, a bicycle adventure from Ireland and, in an exciting new commission, a free colour-filled play space by rising Sydney-based artist HOSSEI. Our young audiences will experience the best creativity from around the world, with stories from Australia, Ireland, the UK, Korea and Western Sydney to inspire curiosity and joy for the whole year ahead.

Summer highlights include:

FREE PLAY SPACE (AGES 0 -12)

• TOO~B || A Free Playspace by HOSSEI || 5 – 23 Jan || Ages 0 – 12: An immersive installation by multidisciplinary artist HOSSEI combining sculpture, costume and sound to transform play into a surreal, sensory adventure. Rooted in the artist’s rich Persian, Turkish and Russian heritage, HOSSEI’s work invites young minds to dream in a world where anything is possible.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (AGES 1+)

• Where is the Green Sheep? || 10 – 21 December || Ages 1+: Mem Fox and Judy Horacek’s classic tale will make its Opera House debut, taking audiences on a whirlwind adventure through puppetry and animation. Meet Red Sheep, who loves to cartwheel in the fields, Bath Sheep, who loves bubbles and Bed Sheep, who loves to bounce … but the question remains: where is that Green Sheep? Where is the Green Sheep? is a co-production with Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s Out of the Box Festival in association with Arts Centre Melbourne, Sydney Opera House and The Art House, Wyong.
   
• Pirates Love Underpants || 4 – 12 January || Ages 2+: Direct from the UK, Pirates Love Underpants is a vibrant stage adaptation based on the bestselling book by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort. Dodge hungry crocs beneath Long-John Bridge, bob on the waves of Big Knickers Bay and spot sharks in fancy underpants. and trek across Three Pants Ridge. The show is packed with laugh-out-loud humour, playful charm, puppetry, original music and dynamic storytelling.
   
• Rothar || 14 - 18 January || Ages 4+: Set in a small bike shop, Rothar follows two boys and their bikes as they conjure play from the everyday. Developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, this joyful production celebrates imagination through beautiful design and brilliant physical comedy. Created by Ireland’s Branar Téatar do Pháistí, one of the leading children’s theatre companies in Europe, the show features the work of Artistic Director Marc Mac Lochlainn, performers Miquel Barceló and Moisés Mas García.
   
• The Longest Night || Bilingual Pansori Creative Development || 14 February || Ages 7+: Experience a special bilingual preview of The Longest Night, a new pansori work in development by Korean company IPKOASON and Australian artists, blending traditional Korean musical storytelling with contemporary devised theatre. Audiences are invited into the creative process with an excerpt-in-progress of this poetic tale about a white rhinoceros and a young penguin searching for meaning through the night.

Celebrate the 2026 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras with the following movement classes for LGBTIQ+ community and friends (AGES 15+):

• Move-Queer with Fetu Taku || 15 February || Ages 15+: Designed for those who feel out of place in traditional dance settings, this self-esteem-boosting workshop empowers participants to find freedom and pride in their own movements. Led by movement coach and choreographer Fetu Taku, the workshop creates a supportive space to explore confidence, expression and body positivity through dance.
   
• Grumble Boogie with Betty Grumble || 15 February || Ages 15+: Led by Warrane/Sydney-based performance artist Emma May Gibson (aka Betty Grumble), this aerobic dance class and hour-long dance meditation has been designed as a joyful, playful and heart-pumping celebration of the body. This class is open to all movement levels.