newy.com.au – Newcastle’s coastline will become a stage from sunrise to moonlight when New Annual returns from 25 September to 4 October with 40 events featuring 402 artists and seven new commissions.
City of Newcastle has unveiled the full program for the sixth edition of its flagship arts festival, which will offer 10 days of theatre, music, visual art, circus, cabaret and audience participation across beaches, ocean baths, pubs, galleries and public spaces.
Festival director Tory Loudon said the program combined local talent with artists from across Australia while drawing inspiration from Newcastle’s landscapes, stories and subcultures.
“This year’s program reflects a city that’s creative, confident and constantly evolving. It brings together remarkable local artists with leading voices from across Australia, all responding to this place with curiosity and imagination,” Ms Loudon said.
“From sunrise gatherings on Dixon Park Beach and sunset music at Newcastle Ocean Baths to intimate theatre in the pub and indie-rock odes to Silverchair, we’re inviting audiences to experience Newcastle through the stories, sub-cultures and landscapes that define it.”
The coastal program will begin at dawn with Sea Stories, an intimate listening experience by theatre-maker Roslyn Oades at Dixon Park Beach. Ocean Rituals, featuring photographer Penny Green’s images of Newcastle’s coastline and ocean swimming community, will create an open-air exhibition along Bathers Way.
At the Canoe Pool, Izabela Pluta’s large-scale floating installation Cavitation will shift with the tides. It will be accompanied by At Sea, a free daily 8am dance performance by Catapult Dance Choreographic Hub.
Newcastle Ocean Baths will host four free sunset concerts under the SOAK: Live at the Baths banner. Curated by Urthboy, the sessions will feature artists including Hermitude, Claire O’Brien, 92Wrld, Kobie Dee and Karen Lee Andrews.
The baths will later host Wansolmoana Lunar Assembly, a one-off work by Tongan-Australian artist Latai Taumoepeau in which hundreds of participants will be invited to float together beneath the full moon for a celebration of feminine sovereignty and collective power.
The festival will also spread through Newcastle Museum, Civic Theatre, The Playhouse, City Hall and Newcastle Art Gallery, while Wheeler Place, Civic Park and Laman Street will become hubs for performances, food and cultural events.
The opening-night program in Laman Street will feature Pasifika artists Aleksiah, Djanaba and Ngaiire, while Wheeler Place will host Global Table, an event combining food, performance and cultural storytelling with writers Benjamin Law and Jennifer Wong.
At Civic Theatre, journalists Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales will bring their Chat 10, Looks 3 podcast to the stage, while internationally renowned contemporary circus company Circa will present Wolf. City Hall will host All In, a large-scale performance combining professional dancers with students from three local dance schools.
The Playhouse program includes AUTO-TUNE, re:group performance collective’s gig-theatre exploration of Silverchair fandom and millennial culture. Each performance will be followed by a free concert from a local band, including 2026 triple j Unearthed High winners Trophy Wyfe.
The venue will also host Press Play, marking 50 years of Tantrum Youth Arts, and Truck Driver, Jonny Hawkins’ portrait of life on the road.
Newcastle Museum will celebrate the city’s punk scene with a free event featuring Boudicca, No Reason, Bitchcraft and The Porkers. It will also present an exhibition spanning four decades of Australian and international rock photography by Tony Mott.
Newcastle Art Gallery will host Muse, a 20-year survey of internationally acclaimed Newcastle artist Angela Tiatia’s work, as well as Praxis, which pairs local visual artists and choreographers to produce new collaborative works.
Less conventional venues will also be part of the festival. Seven rooms at the Oriental Hotel will become intimate performance spaces for Petite Suite, while Bartholomews will host the one-night Twisted art party. Charlestown Square will be transformed by MelissaLikesSushi’s large inflatable installation BLOOM, and University House will stage Triceratop, a one-person gay dinosaur love story addressing climate change.
Member for Newcastle Tim Crakanthorp said the festival had become an established part of the city’s cultural calendar.
“The NSW Government is proud to support New Annual in its sixth year, cementing the event as a mainstay in Newcastle’s cultural calendar and enriching the local arts scene,” Mr Crakanthorp said.
“New Annual gets better and better every year. Through our investment across Create NSW, Transport for NSW, and Multicultural NSW, the State Government is ensuring that locals and visitors alike can experience vibrant public spaces, world-class art and unforgettable live performances for free or low cost.”
New Annual is delivered by City of Newcastle with support from Destination NSW, Multicultural NSW, Transport for NSW and Create NSW. The University of Newcastle will return as a presenting partner.
Program details are available on the New Annual website, with general public tickets going on sale at 10am on Monday 3 August.
