Looking for the best shows to see in Sydney this December? Every month Sydney Travel Guide presents a list of the best musicals, theatre productions, comedy shows and dance productions that you should be paying attention to over the next few weeks.
As the year starts to wrap, we aren’t getting many high-profile debuts in Sydney’s best theatres. December is a good year to play catch-up instead, with many theatregoers using the final month of the year to tick off some of the shows currently in the meaty part of their respective seasons. Six the Musical is the main ones, running through its residency at Theatre Royal Sydney. Then you’ve got more intimate productions like a local version of August: Osage County and Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Sweat.
Best shows and musicals to see in Sydney
1. SIX The Musical, Sydney CBD
SIX The Musical has returned to Theatre Royal Sydney for 80 minutes of pop-powered theatre as the six wives of Henry VIII rewrite history and argue over who had the worst marriage. The Tony Award-winning musical has been in high demand ever since it debuted back in 2017, witnessed by around 3.5 million people around the world each year.
After a successful local tour in Melbourne, the musical begins a limited run in Sydney that’ll take it through to the end of the year. Kimberley Hodgson, Deirdre Khoo, Loren Hunter, Zelia Rose Kitoko, Chelsea Dawson and Giorgia Kennedy are all on board as Henry’s wives, all of whom hilariously bring their own sense of style to stage for what should easily be one of the rowdier productions of 2024.
But will it be funnier than Titanique? You’ll need to head along with Theatre Royal Sydney this month to find out.
Director: Claire Healy
Cast: Kimberley Hodgson, Deirdre Khoo, Loren Hunter, Zelia Rose Kitoko, Chelsea Dawson, Giorgia Kennedy
Where: Theatre Royal Sydney; 108 King St, Sydney NSW 2000
When: Until December 28, 2024
Price: $99.50
2. August: Osage Country
Written by the legendary Tracy Letts, the Pulitzer Prize-winning August: Osage County is coming to Sydney with director Eamon Flack handling the classic story of intergenerational trauma flecked with addiction, abandonment, pain and joy. Tracy wrote this poetic, highly emotional tale about the vicious parts of ourselves that we try to hide, bringing it to life with a deep understanding of the need for communication and healing.
You’ve (most likely) seen the classic movie so this is a great opportunity to see the story brought to life on stage, driven by theatre favourites Tamsin Carroll and Bee Cruse with support from Amy Matthews, Johnny Nasser and more.
Director: Eamon Flack
Cast: Tamsin Carroll, Bee Cruse, John Howard, Bert Labonte, Amy Mathews, Johnny Nasser
Where: Belvoir St Theatre; 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills NSW 2010
When: November 9 – December 15, 2025
Price: From $74
3. Cirque du Soleil: Luzia
Sydney’s latest Cirque du Soleil production kicks off towards the end of November and runs through to the new year at Entertainment Quarter’s The Showring. As the show has been chosen to celebrate 25 years of Cirque du Soleil in Australia, you’re guaranteed to get the very best of the show’s usual high-flying, visually spectacular way of storytelling.
In Luzia, director Daniele Finzi Pasca takes audiences to a vibrant Mexico with scenes including an old movie set and a smoky dance hall, taking the production from the ocean to the arid desert as it touches on various Mexican traditions sketched onto showstopping acrobatic performances. And there should be plenty of rain worked into the scenes, which is apparently a first for a Cirque du Soleil touring production.
Director: Daniele Finzi Pasca
Where: The Showring; 122 Lang Rd, Moore Park NSW 2021
When: November 24, 2024 – February 9, 2025
Price: $90
4. Sweat
Sydney Theatre Company has adapted Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Sweat for an intimate run at Wharf 1 Theatre, telling the story of factory workers struggling to keep their head above water as the American steel industry collapses around them. The industrial framework is overlaid with personal struggles between three life-long friends, holding a nice line of tension that informs much of the production.
The story has performed well on both Broadway and the West End before so this local production should fare well during the season, especially with acting legends Lisa McCune and Paula Arundell leading the charge.
Director: Zindzi Okenyo
Cast: Lisa McCune, Paula Arundell, Gabriel Alvarado, Yure Covich, James Fraser
Where: Wharf 1 Theatre; Wharf 4/5, 15 Hickson Rd, Dawes Point NSW 2000
When: November 11 – December 22, 2024
Price: $90 – $105
5. New Breed
Carriageworks hosts four world premieres in one with the 11th annual New Breed, a program of contemporary dance glued together by four vastly different choreographers. The diversity in ideas and styles makes this one of the biggest dance productions to hit Sydney this year, continuing the New Breed season with works from Amber McCartney, Dean Elliot, Piran Scott and Siobhan McKenna.
Director: Sydney Dance Company
Cast: Amber McCartney, Dean Elliot, Piran Scott, Siobhan McKenna
Where: Carriageworks; 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh NSW 2015
When: December 4-14
Price: $35 – $59
6. The Christmas Spectacular
The State Theatre’s annual Christmas Spectacular show once again takes over the heritage venue in the week leading up to Christmas Day. The whimsical 90-minute production plays as a Christmas themed variety show, stringing songs, dances and world-class performers like The Voice finalist Prinnie Stevens and Australia’s Got Talent illusionist Michael Boyd.
Director: Michael Boyd Productions
Cast: Prinnie Stevens, Michael Boyd
Where: The State Theatre; 49 Market St, Sydney NSW 2000
When: December 20-22
Price: $59 – $79
7. Home Alone in Concert
Sydney Symphony slinks into the holiday spirit with a special performance of Home Alone. Yes, that one. The Christmas-adjacent invasion thriller has become one of cinema’s most cherished holiday movies, right alongside the even more festive sequel and other classics like Elf and Love Actually.
The symphony will be lifting John Williams’ evocative score for a 2-hour show performed across one weekend from Thursday to Sunday at Sydney Opera House’s Concert Hall
Where: Sydney Opera House; Bennelong Point, Sydney NSW 2000
When: December 5-8; various times
Price: $55
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