Zadie Smith
Nuance is back. Come get reacquainted.
Event details
| Date | Time |
|---|---|
| Sunday, 8 March 2026 | 1pm |
| Ticket | Price |
|---|---|
| Premium | $65 |
| A Reserve | $49 |
| B Reserve | $35 |
$8.95 booking fee applies per transaction
Prices correct at the time of publication and subject to change without notice. Exact prices will be displayed with seat selection.
The only authorised ticket agency for this event is Sydney Opera House. For more information about Authorised Agencies, see the frequently asked questions below.
Sydney Opera House Insiders pre-sale
9am, Tuesday 2 December 2025
Become a Sydney Opera House Insider to receive exclusive pre-sale access
What’s On e-newsletter pre-sale
9am, Wednesday 3 December 2025
General Public tickets on-sale
9am, Thursday 4 December 2025
For those requiring assistance, wheelchair or companion seating, accessible seating locations are available. Bookings can be made by calling the Box Office on +61 2 9250 7777 or by email.
Auslan Interpreted performance
Experienced Auslan theatre interpreters stand to the side of the stage and translate what the actors are saying or singing into Auslan. A block of seats is reserved for users of this service to ensure a good view of the interpreter and the stage. Book now
Captioned performance
Captions are text that display the spoken word and other relevant sounds from the talk that are otherwise inaccessible to people who are Deaf or have hearing loss. These will appear on a screen on stage or you can scan the QR Code on signs at entry to venue to see the captions on your personal device (mobile phone).
Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times.
The Opera House is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children that visit or engage with us. Read our Child Safety Policy.
Literary HubZadie Smith’s ability to take your world and write it back to you, is unlike any other.
The Sunday TimesIt’s hard to think of a living essayist who is better company on the page—walking you through her thoughts, curious about everything and everyone…
All about the speakers
Zadie Smith (she/her)
Zadie Smith, born in North London in 1975 to an English father and Jamaican mother, studied English at Cambridge, graduating in 1997. Her acclaimed debut novel White Teeth is a vivid portrait of contemporary multicultural London and won numerous major awards, including the Guardian First Book Award, the Whitbread First Novel Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize. It has been translated into over twenty languages and adapted for television and stage. In 2020, the New York Public Library named it one of the 125 most important books of the past 125 years, and it appears on The New York Times list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. A 25th-anniversary edition with a new foreword was published in 2025.
Michaela Kalowski (she/her)
Moderator
Michaela Kalowski is a highly regarded and sought after interviewer, moderator & curator for writers and ideas festivals. Highlight interviews include Margaret Atwood, David Mitchell, Michelle de Kretser, Tim Winton, Charlotte Wood, Tim Minchin & Stan Grant alongside a host of politicians, scientists, poets, researchers and filmmakers. She was curator of Big Weekend of Books, ABC RN’s annual on-air writers’ festival, and has curated programs for Brisbane Writers Festival as well as conducted radio interviews and presented programs across ABC radio & TV. She is a regular guest on ABC TV Weekend Breakfast presenting a book recommendation segment. She’s co-presenter & co-writer of the acclaimed two-part podcast for ABC RN, Laya’s Way Home, tracing part of her family’s history.
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Attending this event
Venue information
Our foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer.
Getting here
The Sydney Opera House Car Park, operated by Wilson Parking, is open and available to use. Wilson Parking offer discounted parking if you book ahead. Please see the Wilson Parking website for details.
Please check the Transport NSW website for the latest advice and information on travel. You can catch public transport (bus, train, ferry) to Circular Quay and enjoy a 7-10 minute walk to the Opera House.
Frequently asked questions
Ticket purchases and collection at our Box Office is discouraged and eTicket or postal delivery methods should be used, wherever possible. However, if you are collecting your tickets from the Box Office, we recommend doing this at least 60 minutes before the event starts. If you have already received your tickets, the venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Please take your seats as soon as you arrive.
If you are late, we will seat you as soon as we can and, where possible, in your allocated seat. However, to reduce movement in the venue as well as minimise disruption to the performance and other patrons, ticketholders may be seated in an allocated latecomer’s seat. Please be aware that some events have lock-out periods. In these cases, latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance. On occasions, this may not be until the interval, or at all where there is no interval.
Details of our right to refuse admission can be found in our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Events.
In accordance with our venue security procedures, Opera House security will be scanning and checking bags under the Monumental Stairs, prior to entering the building. Bags will be scanned by an x-ray machine, and staff will wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling your belongings, such as gloves. Cloaking facilities will be open 60 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 60 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. However it is strongly encouraged that you travel lightly to minimise contact and queuing. Any bags larger than an A4 piece of paper will need to be checked into the Cloak Room.
The authorised agency for this event is the Sydney Opera House.
Only tickets purchased by authorised agencies should be considered reliable. If you purchase tickets from a non-authorised agency such as Ticketmaster Resale, Viagogo, Ticketbis, eBay, Gumtree, Tickets Australia or any other unauthorised seller, you risk that these tickets are fake, void or have previously been cancelled. Resale restriction applies. For more details, please refer to our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Attendance at Events.
Please contact Box Office on +61 2 9250 7777 as soon as possible to advise if you can no longer attend.
Foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.
The venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances.
Please bring a credit or debit card for any on site purchases to enable contactless payment. You’re welcome to bring your own water bottle but no other food and drinks are permitted inside our venues.
The health, safety and wellbeing of everyone at the Sydney Opera House is our top priority. In line with this commitment, the Opera House became a smoke-free site in January 2022. Read our Smoke-free Environment Policy.
Location and access
Concert Hall
The Concert Hall is located beneath the largest of Sydney Opera House’s roof sails, filling the upper levels of the west side of the building. Best accessed through the covered concourse.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators).