Alphabetical Sydney: All Aboard! Term 3
21 September 2023
In the Playhouse
Musical Theatre | Early Stage 1 - 2
Inspired by Hilary Bell and Antonia Pesenti’s best-selling picture book, this immersive musical takes primary school students on an alphabetical journey around the world’s most famous harbour city.
Climb aboard the tour bus to discover their Sydney, one letter at a time!
Term 3
Thursday 21 September, 10:30am and 12:30pm
| Ticket | Price & Description |
| Student | $25 |
One complimentary teacher per class. Ratio required for supervision is one teacher per 15 students.
The only authorised ticket agency for this event is Sydney Opera House. For more information about Authorised Agencies, see the frequently asked questions below.
Suitable for Early Stage 1 - 2
This program is recommended for Years K - 4.
Run time:
The duration of this event is 55 minutes, plus 15 minute Q&A.
Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
Book & Lyrics
Hilary Bell
Music
Greta Gertler Gold
Director
Liesel Badorrek
Production Designer
Isla Shaw and Antonia Pesenti
Lighting Designer
Benjamin Brockman
Video Designer
Mic Gruchy
Creative Play
Antonia Pesenti
Puppetry Director
Alice Osborne
Puppetry Designer
Isla Shaw and Antonia Pesenti
Musical Director
Maria Alfonsine
Puppets produced by
Erth Physical and Visual Inc
Music produced by
Greta Gertler Gold and Adam Gold
Keyboards
Barney McAll
Costume Supervisor
Rebecca Jones
Wigs
Martelle Hunt
Weekend NotesA truly immersive theatre experience for the whole family! The children in the audience were enthralled by the twists and turns of the story.
Let the dazzling bin chicken lead the way!
Combining puppetry, theatre, songs and creative play with irresistible music by Greta Gertler Gold, Alphabetical Sydney: All Aboard! is a celebration of all that makes this city unique.
Inspired by the best-selling picture book, climb aboard the tour bus to discover your Sydney, one letter at a time. The charming guides, a chaotic Ibis and order-loving Nanna will take us on a whirlwind adventure.
Presented by Sydney Opera House
Alphabetical Sydney: All Aboard! was developed with the support of the City of Sydney, the NSW government through Create NSW, Parramatta City and Riverside Theatres. This production is supported by the Australian Government through the RISE (Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand) fund, and the Australia Council for the Arts, it’s arts funding and advisory body.
Gallery
About Critical Stages Touring
Critical Stages Touring’s goal is to make outstanding live theatre accessible to audiences throughout Australia. Their vision is to enable regional communities to have the same access to high-quality theatre as metropolitan audiences, and to foster a sustainable and diverse national independent theatre sector. They support outstanding theatre artists to achieve their touring ambitions and regional presenters to achieve their audience development goals
Since 2005, they have partnered with presenters and artists around Australia to deliver outstanding independent productions engaging audiences from Bundaberg to Bunbury and beyond.
Arts Assist
The Sydney Opera House is committed to providing the very best national and international performing arts experiences to NSW students as part of their educational studies.
The Sydney Opera House Arts Assist program provides the full cost of the Creative Learning performance ticket and $5 per student toward travel costs. School applications are assessed according to socioeconomic disadvantage, schools with special needs and individual responses regarding the School Profile and School Community.
The Sydney Opera House thanks and acknowledges our generous Arts Assist donors; The Greatorex Foundation and Sydney Opera House Ladies’ Committee.
Looking for the general public performance?
Inspired by Hilary Bell and Antonia Pesenti’s best-selling picture book, this immersive musical will take you on an alphabetical journey around the world’s most famous harbour city.
Other information
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 six min walk to the Opera House.
Covid-safe information
The health and wellbeing of everyone attending the Opera House is our top priority. We’re committed to making your experience safe, comfortable and enjoyable, with a number of measures in place including regular cleaning of high-touch areas, air conditioning systems that maximise ventilation, and hand sanitiser stations positioned in all paths of travel. We remind our audiences and visitors to please stay home if you feel unwell. If you need to discuss your ticketing or booking options, contact our Box Office team on 02 9250 7777.
The health and wellbeing of everyone attending the Opera House is our top priority. We have a number of safety measures in place including regular cleaning of high-touch areas, air conditioning systems that maximise ventilation, and hand sanitiser stations positioned in all paths of travel. While face masks are no longer required, we ask all our patrons and visitors to practise good hygiene. Please stay home if you feel unwell and read more about our flexible ticket options.
The Sydney Opera House no longer requires patrons to show that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
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 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. Opera Bar, Opera Kitchen and Portside are also available for you to enjoy.
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.
Frequently asked questions
We recommend your group arrives early at the venue, at least 45 minutes prior to the performance start time.
If you are late, we will seat you as soon as possible, but please be aware that some events have lock out periods where late comers cannot be admitted until a suitable break in the performance. Occasionally this is not until the interval, and in some instances late comers won’t be admitted at all.
Please call Front of House on 02 9250 7134 to notify us if your group is running late.
The closest location to disembark from buses and coaches is on Macquarie Street. Please contact City of Sydney to confirm bus and coach set down areas. We recommend allowing an additional 10 minutes for walking from Macquarie Street. There is no bus parking onsite at Sydney Opera House.
Circular Quay is the closest station for public transport via train, bus and ferry. We recommend allowing 15 minutes to walk from Circular Quay for school groups. To view timetable information and ensure your public transport needs can be met, please contact Transport NSW. Please check the Transport NSW website for the latest advice and information on COVID-19 safety measures for public transport.
The safety and security of everyone visiting our site is paramount. We require all items larger than the dimensions of an A4 piece of paper to be cloaked. As our cloakrooms have limited space, we request that where possible teachers and students do not bring large bags/backpacks with them to the performance.
Yes. Please visit our Policies page for more information.
If your students are bringing a packed lunch, Royal Botanic Gardens adjacent to the Opera House is quite pleasant in fine weather. Alternatively, our restaurants offer everything from casual snacks to kid friendly meals.
Food and drink are permitted inside the foyers, but not in the venues.
Please contact our Creative Learning Ticketing Specialists on 02 9250 7770 as soon as possible to advise if your group can no longer attend. If your group can no longer attend because your school is located in a hotspot, or has had a positive case of COVID-19 symptoms, the Opera House has introduced flexible ticketing options to help you.
The Opera House is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children that visit or engage with us. Read our Child Safety Policy.
The Opera House has also developed a Child-friendly Code of Conduct to engage with our youngest visitors.
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