World-class fun: fresh approach for city's New Annual festival

The Advertiser

18-07-2025

The fifth year of the New Annual festival looks like a banger.
Newcastle's premier arts and culture fest kicks off on Friday, September 26, and runs through to Sunday, October 5.
The Newcastle Ocean Baths will come alive during the festival, with a live, original theatre production, Meet me at the Baths, running twice daily over seven days and set amongst the pools.
The Newcastle Ocean Baths will also serve as a spectacular backdrop for a series of music concerts, under the title SOAK, commencing at sunset over five days of the festival.
While 70 per cent of the New Annual program will feature local talent, there are some prized performers from elsewhere on the program.
On Saturday, September 27, Spooky Men's Chorale plays a headlining show at Newcastle City Hall. Formed more than 20 years ago, the eclectic choir tours the globe with their humorous but gifted take on songs of all genres. They will lead a workshop on the afternoon of the show, which should fuel more crowd involvement in their evening concert.
And where would New Annual stand if it did not have an outrageously zany theatrical show. Chicken, starring Irish actor Eva O'Connor, is a solo show about an Irish actor in Hollywood lamenting a career spent acting as a chicken. The show scooped up awards at Adelaide Fringe, Dublin Fringe and Edinburgh Fringe. It will be performed October 1 through to October 4 in an intimate theatrette at University House in downtown Newcastle.
Funded by the City of Newcastle, with financial assistance from NSW Government, the New Annual concept shines a bright light on Newcastle's creative arts scene as well as featuring world-class artists performing in iconic venues.
Tory Loudon took the reins as New Annual festival director early in 2025 on a three-year contract. She has extensive experience in the arts world, including with the Sydney Opera House, Vivid festival and Sydney Theatre Company. She is a long-time fan of Newcastle's arts community.
"There were a few things I wanted to do when I got here," she says.
"One of them was to commission local stories, really focusing on who were the right people to tell those stories, the right places. So a lot of the program is site specific.
"I think for me the balance is how to take art out into parks and streets and beaches where people can hopefully stumble across it and discover something new. It also means we have to deal with the elements. If it means less capacity, then so be it."
The iconic Newcastle Ocean Baths was the first location Loudon wanted to lock in for the 2025 program.
"Not only are the Newcastle Ocean Baths loved, and such a gathering ground for everyone, where there are those communal spaces you get those intergenerational moments happening ... those really egalitarian spaces where people come together, where they maybe wouldn't come together otherwise," Loudon says.
Newcastle-based Whale Chorus Theatre Company was commissioned to create Meet me at the Baths, with Janie Gibson as director and Ang Collins as playwright.
The one-hour production will run at 11am and 2pm daily through the festival, with the audience invited to bring a picnic and a cushion to enjoy the show from the comfort of the concrete steps near the lap pool.
"We are using this beautiful place, a place of natural beauty," Gibson says.
"On that site we are telling the stories of all the different types of people who come and go from the place over time. And really focusing on human stories that are about people facing life's big changes. Whether that be love, death, all sorts of things."
The actors will be spread across the venue, and the audience will be provided cordless headphones so they can lock into the dialogue and soundtrack as they watch the passing parade of visitors (the baths will remain open during the show).
"It's definitely a feel-good, heartwarming spectrum of stories, like a tapestry of human stories," Gibson says.
"We don't shy away from stories of grief and loss, as well as love stories, comedy, family and hijinks."
Loudon has sat in on the early development sessions of the show.
"Ang has pulled out some stories that are very, very Newcastle. People who live here will recognise them," she says.
During the run, the baths will also feature The Bathers, a series of portraits of individuals and groups who frequent the baths, shot by Edwina Richards and Lee Illfield. It includes a homage to the photographers who have been shooting at the baths and surrounding beach for years, Richards says.
Richards was excited to be involved in the project, and sees her images as an extension of the "magical realism" of the Meet me at the Baths play.
Like Gibson and Collins, Richards is a Newcastle local. To her, the baths are special: "I've always found them, particularly at night, as that magical, secret, personal place. I've skinny-dipped all through my life there - I mean, who hasn't. I've always loved it, particularly as a teenager."
Tim Levinson, founder of Elefant Traks record label and best known as hip-hop artist Urthboy, has called Newcastle home for the past four years.
"Every time I talk to somebody from outside Newcastle about moving here, there's not a person who doesn't say, 'Ooh, wow, Newcastle's really happening, isn't it?' It's an interesting outsider's perspective," he says.
"It does mirror a preconception I had [of the city], a real DIY, not waiting around for somebody to give you permission to do your art; you just go and do it. And I love that attitude. It's awesome."
Levinson was given the task of curating the line-up for five nights of music at the Newcastle Ocean Baths for New Annual.
"When you get an opportunity to be creative, imaginative, about the role music can play in a public setting, that's an honour," Levinson says.
"I feel honoured to dream up ideas that might capture imagination.
"We are at a point in time, where the value of people coming together in public spaces, and sharing space, and connecting with each other, has never been more important."
The SOAK program of free concerts at sunset includes: Newcastle rockers Dust (September 27); beatbox artist Thom Thum, hip-hop artist Dobby and jazz pianist Freyja Garbett (September 28); TikTok sensation and Sydney-based pop violinist Joel Sunny, accompanied by dancers and singers (October 2); soul and R&B artists Mason Dane, A Girl, Dean Brady, Boy Soda and Finbar Stuart (October 3); and Newcastle DJs Jayteehazard and GNGR host the ultimate pool party (October 4).
A few favourite events return, including the opening night arts party on Friday, September 26, which will see Laman Street in front of Newcastle Art Gallery turned into a funky free function featuring singers Kira Piru, Davaura and Haiki Hands. Artworks from First Nations artists will be projected onto the exterior walls of the newly-expanded art gallery during the night.
The Global Gathering is also back, but at a new location, taking over Beaumont Street on Saturday, October 4, with entertaining MCs Benjamin Law and Jenny Wong running two stages with food demonstrations, music, dance and performances.
Of course, the ever-popular Spiegeltent will be an anchor of the festival. The Strut & Fret company's new production, La Ronde, will run from September 5 to October 5 in Civic Park. The show comes fresh from a first run at Adelaide Fringe, and promises the extraordinary array of fun and risque circus acts that Newcastle has come to love.
Public Art Trail A self-guided art trail featuring original, immersive art themes will be in place in shipping containers near Nobbys Beach and Camp Shotland. Works include:
Argo Escargot, by Jen Denzin. A cargo full of tall tales, lost histories and a healthy dose of the absurd.
Listen to a Starfish, by Diana Chester and Damien Ricketson. Lie down, close your eyes and listen to field recordings in a sensory sound installation.
Anchor, by Heidi Axelsen and Hugo Moline. Enter the camera obscura near Nobbys Beach and see the world differently.
Bio Assembly An immersive exhibition that brings together found sounds and everyday materials to reflect on our relationship with the environment. Watt Space Gallery.
Mini Putt Putt Golf, by Rosie Deacon and Jen Denzin. Tee-off on a colourful and whimsical 6-hole mini putt-putt course, built especially for New Annual.
Locked On Leading Indigenous Australian artist Karla Dickens presents a solo show at The Lock-Up addressing climate crises and ecofeminism, honouring the legacy of non-violent protest.
Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer and Night Night, created by The Last Great Hunt, at Newcastle Museum.
POV, by re:group, at Newcastle Museum. A kid with a camera, two adults, no rehearsals. Just real reactions. An uplifting and unpredictable family portrait.
Seance and Flight, by Darkfield. Seance transforms a shipping container into a Victorian seance room, using darkness and sound to provide a 20-minute experience challenging what is real and imagined. Flight transforms a shipping container into the interior of an Airbus 320 aeroplane to reimagine what happens when an aircraft loses cabin pressure. Wheeler Place, every day.
First Rhythms First Nations composer and musician Adam Manning joins forces with contemporary ensemble, Australian Art Orchestra, for a performance that reimagines clapsticks, First Nations rhythms and visual art to explore the living pulse of Country. Newcastle Conservatorium, October 2.
Surge, curated by Tantrum Youth Arts. A punk explosion of new performance, music, and interactive visual and installation art. Newcastle Museum, October 2.
Ghosts Between Streams, by jazz musician Tom Avgenicos and an eight-piece ensemble. A groundbreaking collaboration featuring jazz, strings and visual art, showcasing the story of the Coquun/Hunter River. September 30, Ravella.
Dancefloor Conversion Therapy Jonny Hawkins was once on the straight and narrow, now they're on the queer and wide. A show for clubbers, ravers, party people and all who've been born again on the dancefloor. Join the built-in after party in the laneway at Bernie's Bar. Devonshire Street, September 27.
In the world of festivals, New Annual is still a baby. With only four years under its belt, it's still establishing an identity among the public, both locally and from further afield.
For festival director Loudon, the fact the festival is still a relative newcomer on the scene is an advantage.
"I see that as an opportunity, because it means you can play a little bit, take a few more risks," she says.
"Many people don't have as many preconceptions as to what they think the festival should be.
"I love the fact we've introduced a free public art trail this year. And there's a freedom that comes when something is still evolving. And again, it's important to make sure you keep offering things up in response to the environment around you. There is a cost of living crisis going on - I know how much it costs to buy tickets to go to shows, like, 70 per cent of the program is free or low cost ($25). That was really important.
"We want people to come, and be able to enjoy it, discover new artists, see their city differently. That can only work if people come, so you try to think about how to remove some of the barriers.
"You don't have to go into a gallery. You will stumble across art, in shipping containers, or at the Newcastle Baths, hopefully as you're out and about doing your daily work.
"We are taking the art out to people and meeting them where they already go and congregate."
Newcastle lord mayor Ross Kerridge is eagerly looking forward to this year's program.
"There was a need for a more mainstream focus and particularly an increase in local content [in New Annual], and that's been listened to," he says. "And, with local content, they've commissioned works around local themes, and particularly around Newcastle Baths, and I think that's great."
The mayor is confident the program is a step in the direction for his personal mantra: "I'm happy for international superstars to come to Newcastle, but what I really want is for international superstars to come from Newcastle."
The fifth year of the New Annual festival looks like a banger.
Newcastle's premier arts and culture fest kicks off on Friday, September 26, and runs through to Sunday, October 5.
The Newcastle Ocean Baths will come alive during the festival, with a live, original theatre production, Meet me at the Baths, running twice daily over seven days and set amongst the pools.
The Newcastle Ocean Baths will also serve as a spectacular backdrop for a series of music concerts, under the title SOAK, commencing at sunset over five days of the festival.
While 70 per cent of the New Annual program will feature local talent, there are some prized performers from elsewhere on the program.
On Saturday, September 27, Spooky Men's Chorale plays a headlining show at Newcastle City Hall. Formed more than 20 years ago, the eclectic choir tours the globe with their humorous but gifted take on songs of all genres. They will lead a workshop on the afternoon of the show, which should fuel more crowd involvement in their evening concert.
And where would New Annual stand if it did not have an outrageously zany theatrical show. Chicken, starring Irish actor Eva O'Connor, is a solo show about an Irish actor in Hollywood lamenting a career spent acting as a chicken. The show scooped up awards at Adelaide Fringe, Dublin Fringe and Edinburgh Fringe. It will be performed October 1 through to October 4 in an intimate theatrette at University House in downtown Newcastle.
Funded by the City of Newcastle, with financial assistance from NSW Government, the New Annual concept shines a bright light on Newcastle's creative arts scene as well as featuring world-class artists performing in iconic venues.
Tory Loudon took the reins as New Annual festival director early in 2025 on a three-year contract. She has extensive experience in the arts world, including with the Sydney Opera House, Vivid festival and Sydney Theatre Company. She is a long-time fan of Newcastle's arts community.
"There were a few things I wanted to do when I got here," she says.
"One of them was to commission local stories, really focusing on who were the right people to tell those stories, the right places. So a lot of the program is site specific.
"I think for me the balance is how to take art out into parks and streets and beaches where people can hopefully stumble across it and discover something new. It also means we have to deal with the elements. If it means less capacity, then so be it."
The iconic Newcastle Ocean Baths was the first location Loudon wanted to lock in for the 2025 program.
"Not only are the Newcastle Ocean Baths loved, and such a gathering ground for everyone, where there are those communal spaces you get those intergenerational moments happening ... those really egalitarian spaces where people come together, where they maybe wouldn't come together otherwise," Loudon says.
Newcastle-based Whale Chorus Theatre Company was commissioned to create Meet me at the Baths, with Janie Gibson as director and Ang Collins as playwright.
The one-hour production will run at 11am and 2pm daily through the festival, with the audience invited to bring a picnic and a cushion to enjoy the show from the comfort of the concrete steps near the lap pool.
"We are using this beautiful place, a place of natural beauty," Gibson says.
"On that site we are telling the stories of all the different types of people who come and go from the place over time. And really focusing on human stories that are about people facing life's big changes. Whether that be love, death, all sorts of things."
The actors will be spread across the venue, and the audience will be provided cordless headphones so they can lock into the dialogue and soundtrack as they watch the passing parade of visitors (the baths will remain open during the show).
"It's definitely a feel-good, heartwarming spectrum of stories, like a tapestry of human stories," Gibson says.
"We don't shy away from stories of grief and loss, as well as love stories, comedy, family and hijinks."
Loudon has sat in on the early development sessions of the show.
"Ang has pulled out some stories that are very, very Newcastle. People who live here will recognise them," she says.
During the run, the baths will also feature The Bathers, a series of portraits of individuals and groups who frequent the baths, shot by Edwina Richards and Lee Illfield. It includes a homage to the photographers who have been shooting at the baths and surrounding beach for years, Richards says.
Richards was excited to be involved in the project, and sees her images as an extension of the "magical realism" of the Meet me at the Baths play.
Like Gibson and Collins, Richards is a Newcastle local. To her, the baths are special: "I've always found them, particularly at night, as that magical, secret, personal place. I've skinny-dipped all through my life there - I mean, who hasn't. I've always loved it, particularly as a teenager."
Tim Levinson, founder of Elefant Traks record label and best known as hip-hop artist Urthboy, has called Newcastle home for the past four years.
"Every time I talk to somebody from outside Newcastle about moving here, there's not a person who doesn't say, 'Ooh, wow, Newcastle's really happening, isn't it?' It's an interesting outsider's perspective," he says.
"It does mirror a preconception I had [of the city], a real DIY, not waiting around for somebody to give you permission to do your art; you just go and do it. And I love that attitude. It's awesome."
Levinson was given the task of curating the line-up for five nights of music at the Newcastle Ocean Baths for New Annual.
"When you get an opportunity to be creative, imaginative, about the role music can play in a public setting, that's an honour," Levinson says.
"I feel honoured to dream up ideas that might capture imagination.
"We are at a point in time, where the value of people coming together in public spaces, and sharing space, and connecting with each other, has never been more important."
The SOAK program of free concerts at sunset includes: Newcastle rockers Dust (September 27); beatbox artist Thom Thum, hip-hop artist Dobby and jazz pianist Freyja Garbett (September 28); TikTok sensation and Sydney-based pop violinist Joel Sunny, accompanied by dancers and singers (October 2); soul and R&B artists Mason Dane, A Girl, Dean Brady, Boy Soda and Finbar Stuart (October 3); and Newcastle DJs Jayteehazard and GNGR host the ultimate pool party (October 4).
A few favourite events return, including the opening night arts party on Friday, September 26, which will see Laman Street in front of Newcastle Art Gallery turned into a funky free function featuring singers Kira Piru, Davaura and Haiki Hands. Artworks from First Nations artists will be projected onto the exterior walls of the newly-expanded art gallery during the night.
The Global Gathering is also back, but at a new location, taking over Beaumont Street on Saturday, October 4, with entertaining MCs Benjamin Law and Jenny Wong running two stages with food demonstrations, music, dance and performances.
Of course, the ever-popular Spiegeltent will be an anchor of the festival. The Strut & Fret company's new production, La Ronde, will run from September 5 to October 5 in Civic Park. The show comes fresh from a first run at Adelaide Fringe, and promises the extraordinary array of fun and risque circus acts that Newcastle has come to love.
Public Art Trail A self-guided art trail featuring original, immersive art themes will be in place in shipping containers near Nobbys Beach and Camp Shotland. Works include:
Argo Escargot, by Jen Denzin. A cargo full of tall tales, lost histories and a healthy dose of the absurd.
Listen to a Starfish, by Diana Chester and Damien Ricketson. Lie down, close your eyes and listen to field recordings in a sensory sound installation.
Anchor, by Heidi Axelsen and Hugo Moline. Enter the camera obscura near Nobbys Beach and see the world differently.
Bio Assembly An immersive exhibition that brings together found sounds and everyday materials to reflect on our relationship with the environment. Watt Space Gallery.
Mini Putt Putt Golf, by Rosie Deacon and Jen Denzin. Tee-off on a colourful and whimsical 6-hole mini putt-putt course, built especially for New Annual.
Locked On Leading Indigenous Australian artist Karla Dickens presents a solo show at The Lock-Up addressing climate crises and ecofeminism, honouring the legacy of non-violent protest.
Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer and Night Night, created by The Last Great Hunt, at Newcastle Museum.
POV, by re:group, at Newcastle Museum. A kid with a camera, two adults, no rehearsals. Just real reactions. An uplifting and unpredictable family portrait.
Seance and Flight, by Darkfield. Seance transforms a shipping container into a Victorian seance room, using darkness and sound to provide a 20-minute experience challenging what is real and imagined. Flight transforms a shipping container into the interior of an Airbus 320 aeroplane to reimagine what happens when an aircraft loses cabin pressure. Wheeler Place, every day.
First Rhythms First Nations composer and musician Adam Manning joins forces with contemporary ensemble, Australian Art Orchestra, for a performance that reimagines clapsticks, First Nations rhythms and visual art to explore the living pulse of Country. Newcastle Conservatorium, October 2.
Surge, curated by Tantrum Youth Arts. A punk explosion of new performance, music, and interactive visual and installation art. Newcastle Museum, October 2.
Ghosts Between Streams, by jazz musician Tom Avgenicos and an eight-piece ensemble. A groundbreaking collaboration featuring jazz, strings and visual art, showcasing the story of the Coquun/Hunter River. September 30, Ravella.
Dancefloor Conversion Therapy Jonny Hawkins was once on the straight and narrow, now they're on the queer and wide. A show for clubbers, ravers, party people and all who've been born again on the dancefloor. Join the built-in after party in the laneway at Bernie's Bar. Devonshire Street, September 27.
In the world of festivals, New Annual is still a baby. With only four years under its belt, it's still establishing an identity among the public, both locally and from further afield.
For festival director Loudon, the fact the festival is still a relative newcomer on the scene is an advantage.
"I see that as an opportunity, because it means you can play a little bit, take a few more risks," she says.
"Many people don't have as many preconceptions as to what they think the festival should be.
"I love the fact we've introduced a free public art trail this year. And there's a freedom that comes when something is still evolving. And again, it's important to make sure you keep offering things up in response to the environment around you. There is a cost of living crisis going on - I know how much it costs to buy tickets to go to shows, like, 70 per cent of the program is free or low cost ($25). That was really important.
"We want people to come, and be able to enjoy it, discover new artists, see their city differently. That can only work if people come, so you try to think about how to remove some of the barriers.
"You don't have to go into a gallery. You will stumble across art, in shipping containers, or at the Newcastle Baths, hopefully as you're out and about doing your daily work.
"We are taking the art out to people and meeting them where they already go and congregate."
Newcastle lord mayor Ross Kerridge is eagerly looking forward to this year's program.
"There was a need for a more mainstream focus and particularly an increase in local content [in New Annual], and that's been listened to," he says. "And, with local content, they've commissioned works around local themes, and particularly around Newcastle Baths, and I think that's great."
The mayor is confident the program is a step in the direction for his personal mantra: "I'm happy for international superstars to come to Newcastle, but what I really want is for international superstars to come from Newcastle."
The fifth year of the New Annual festival looks like a banger.
Newcastle's premier arts and culture fest kicks off on Friday, September 26, and runs through to Sunday, October 5.
The Newcastle Ocean Baths will come alive during the festival, with a live, original theatre production, Meet me at the Baths, running twice daily over seven days and set amongst the pools.
The Newcastle Ocean Baths will also serve as a spectacular backdrop for a series of music concerts, under the title SOAK, commencing at sunset over five days of the festival.
While 70 per cent of the New Annual program will feature local talent, there are some prized performers from elsewhere on the program.
On Saturday, September 27, Spooky Men's Chorale plays a headlining show at Newcastle City Hall. Formed more than 20 years ago, the eclectic choir tours the globe with their humorous but gifted take on songs of all genres. They will lead a workshop on the afternoon of the show, which should fuel more crowd involvement in their evening concert.
And where would New Annual stand if it did not have an outrageously zany theatrical show. Chicken, starring Irish actor Eva O'Connor, is a solo show about an Irish actor in Hollywood lamenting a career spent acting as a chicken. The show scooped up awards at Adelaide Fringe, Dublin Fringe and Edinburgh Fringe. It will be performed October 1 through to October 4 in an intimate theatrette at University House in downtown Newcastle.
Funded by the City of Newcastle, with financial assistance from NSW Government, the New Annual concept shines a bright light on Newcastle's creative arts scene as well as featuring world-class artists performing in iconic venues.
Tory Loudon took the reins as New Annual festival director early in 2025 on a three-year contract. She has extensive experience in the arts world, including with the Sydney Opera House, Vivid festival and Sydney Theatre Company. She is a long-time fan of Newcastle's arts community.
"There were a few things I wanted to do when I got here," she says.
"One of them was to commission local stories, really focusing on who were the right people to tell those stories, the right places. So a lot of the program is site specific.
"I think for me the balance is how to take art out into parks and streets and beaches where people can hopefully stumble across it and discover something new. It also means we have to deal with the elements. If it means less capacity, then so be it."
The iconic Newcastle Ocean Baths was the first location Loudon wanted to lock in for the 2025 program.
"Not only are the Newcastle Ocean Baths loved, and such a gathering ground for everyone, where there are those communal spaces you get those intergenerational moments happening ... those really egalitarian spaces where people come together, where they maybe wouldn't come together otherwise," Loudon says.
Newcastle-based Whale Chorus Theatre Company was commissioned to create Meet me at the Baths, with Janie Gibson as director and Ang Collins as playwright.
The one-hour production will run at 11am and 2pm daily through the festival, with the audience invited to bring a picnic and a cushion to enjoy the show from the comfort of the concrete steps near the lap pool.
"We are using this beautiful place, a place of natural beauty," Gibson says.
"On that site we are telling the stories of all the different types of people who come and go from the place over time. And really focusing on human stories that are about people facing life's big changes. Whether that be love, death, all sorts of things."
The actors will be spread across the venue, and the audience will be provided cordless headphones so they can lock into the dialogue and soundtrack as they watch the passing parade of visitors (the baths will remain open during the show).
"It's definitely a feel-good, heartwarming spectrum of stories, like a tapestry of human stories," Gibson says.
"We don't shy away from stories of grief and loss, as well as love stories, comedy, family and hijinks."
Loudon has sat in on the early development sessions of the show.
"Ang has pulled out some stories that are very, very Newcastle. People who live here will recognise them," she says.
During the run, the baths will also feature The Bathers, a series of portraits of individuals and groups who frequent the baths, shot by Edwina Richards and Lee Illfield. It includes a homage to the photographers who have been shooting at the baths and surrounding beach for years, Richards says.
Richards was excited to be involved in the project, and sees her images as an extension of the "magical realism" of the Meet me at the Baths play.
Like Gibson and Collins, Richards is a Newcastle local. To her, the baths are special: "I've always found them, particularly at night, as that magical, secret, personal place. I've skinny-dipped all through my life there - I mean, who hasn't. I've always loved it, particularly as a teenager."
Tim Levinson, founder of Elefant Traks record label and best known as hip-hop artist Urthboy, has called Newcastle home for the past four years.
"Every time I talk to somebody from outside Newcastle about moving here, there's not a person who doesn't say, 'Ooh, wow, Newcastle's really happening, isn't it?' It's an interesting outsider's perspective," he says.
"It does mirror a preconception I had [of the city], a real DIY, not waiting around for somebody to give you permission to do your art; you just go and do it. And I love that attitude. It's awesome."
Levinson was given the task of curating the line-up for five nights of music at the Newcastle Ocean Baths for New Annual.
"When you get an opportunity to be creative, imaginative, about the role music can play in a public setting, that's an honour," Levinson says.
"I feel honoured to dream up ideas that might capture imagination.
"We are at a point in time, where the value of people coming together in public spaces, and sharing space, and connecting with each other, has never been more important."
The SOAK program of free concerts at sunset includes: Newcastle rockers Dust (September 27); beatbox artist Thom Thum, hip-hop artist Dobby and jazz pianist Freyja Garbett (September 28); TikTok sensation and Sydney-based pop violinist Joel Sunny, accompanied by dancers and singers (October 2); soul and R&B artists Mason Dane, A Girl, Dean Brady, Boy Soda and Finbar Stuart (October 3); and Newcastle DJs Jayteehazard and GNGR host the ultimate pool party (October 4).
A few favourite events return, including the opening night arts party on Friday, September 26, which will see Laman Street in front of Newcastle Art Gallery turned into a funky free function featuring singers Kira Piru, Davaura and Haiki Hands. Artworks from First Nations artists will be projected onto the exterior walls of the newly-expanded art gallery during the night.
The Global Gathering is also back, but at a new location, taking over Beaumont Street on Saturday, October 4, with entertaining MCs Benjamin Law and Jenny Wong running two stages with food demonstrations, music, dance and performances.
Of course, the ever-popular Spiegeltent will be an anchor of the festival. The Strut & Fret company's new production, La Ronde, will run from September 5 to October 5 in Civic Park. The show comes fresh from a first run at Adelaide Fringe, and promises the extraordinary array of fun and risque circus acts that Newcastle has come to love.
Public Art Trail A self-guided art trail featuring original, immersive art themes will be in place in shipping containers near Nobbys Beach and Camp Shotland. Works include:
Argo Escargot, by Jen Denzin. A cargo full of tall tales, lost histories and a healthy dose of the absurd.
Listen to a Starfish, by Diana Chester and Damien Ricketson. Lie down, close your eyes and listen to field recordings in a sensory sound installation.
Anchor, by Heidi Axelsen and Hugo Moline. Enter the camera obscura near Nobbys Beach and see the world differently.
Bio Assembly An immersive exhibition that brings together found sounds and everyday materials to reflect on our relationship with the environment. Watt Space Gallery.
Mini Putt Putt Golf, by Rosie Deacon and Jen Denzin. Tee-off on a colourful and whimsical 6-hole mini putt-putt course, built especially for New Annual.
Locked On Leading Indigenous Australian artist Karla Dickens presents a solo show at The Lock-Up addressing climate crises and ecofeminism, honouring the legacy of non-violent protest.
Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer and Night Night, created by The Last Great Hunt, at Newcastle Museum.
POV, by re:group, at Newcastle Museum. A kid with a camera, two adults, no rehearsals. Just real reactions. An uplifting and unpredictable family portrait.
Seance and Flight, by Darkfield. Seance transforms a shipping container into a Victorian seance room, using darkness and sound to provide a 20-minute experience challenging what is real and imagined. Flight transforms a shipping container into the interior of an Airbus 320 aeroplane to reimagine what happens when an aircraft loses cabin pressure. Wheeler Place, every day.
First Rhythms First Nations composer and musician Adam Manning joins forces with contemporary ensemble, Australian Art Orchestra, for a performance that reimagines clapsticks, First Nations rhythms and visual art to explore the living pulse of Country. Newcastle Conservatorium, October 2.
Surge, curated by Tantrum Youth Arts. A punk explosion of new performance, music, and interactive visual and installation art. Newcastle Museum, October 2.
Ghosts Between Streams, by jazz musician Tom Avgenicos and an eight-piece ensemble. A groundbreaking collaboration featuring jazz, strings and visual art, showcasing the story of the Coquun/Hunter River. September 30, Ravella.
Dancefloor Conversion Therapy Jonny Hawkins was once on the straight and narrow, now they're on the queer and wide. A show for clubbers, ravers, party people and all who've been born again on the dancefloor. Join the built-in after party in the laneway at Bernie's Bar. Devonshire Street, September 27.
In the world of festivals, New Annual is still a baby. With only four years under its belt, it's still establishing an identity among the public, both locally and from further afield.
For festival director Loudon, the fact the festival is still a relative newcomer on the scene is an advantage.
"I see that as an opportunity, because it means you can play a little bit, take a few more risks," she says.
"Many people don't have as many preconceptions as to what they think the festival should be.
"I love the fact we've introduced a free public art trail this year. And there's a freedom that comes when something is still evolving. And again, it's important to make sure you keep offering things up in response to the environment around you. There is a cost of living crisis going on - I know how much it costs to buy tickets to go to shows, like, 70 per cent of the program is free or low cost ($25). That was really important.
"We want people to come, and be able to enjoy it, discover new artists, see their city differently. That can only work if people come, so you try to think about how to remove some of the barriers.
"You don't have to go into a gallery. You will stumble across art, in shipping containers, or at the Newcastle Baths, hopefully as you're out and about doing your daily work.
"We are taking the art out to people and meeting them where they already go and congregate."
Newcastle lord mayor Ross Kerridge is eagerly looking forward to this year's program.
"There was a need for a more mainstream focus and particularly an increase in local content [in New Annual], and that's been listened to," he says. "And, with local content, they've commissioned works around local themes, and particularly around Newcastle Baths, and I think that's great."
The mayor is confident the program is a step in the direction for his personal mantra: "I'm happy for international superstars to come to Newcastle, but what I really want is for international superstars to come from Newcastle."
The fifth year of the New Annual festival looks like a banger.
Newcastle's premier arts and culture fest kicks off on Friday, September 26, and runs through to Sunday, October 5.
The Newcastle Ocean Baths will come alive during the festival, with a live, original theatre production, Meet me at the Baths, running twice daily over seven days and set amongst the pools.
The Newcastle Ocean Baths will also serve as a spectacular backdrop for a series of music concerts, under the title SOAK, commencing at sunset over five days of the festival.
While 70 per cent of the New Annual program will feature local talent, there are some prized performers from elsewhere on the program.
On Saturday, September 27, Spooky Men's Chorale plays a headlining show at Newcastle City Hall. Formed more than 20 years ago, the eclectic choir tours the globe with their humorous but gifted take on songs of all genres. They will lead a workshop on the afternoon of the show, which should fuel more crowd involvement in their evening concert.
And where would New Annual stand if it did not have an outrageously zany theatrical show. Chicken, starring Irish actor Eva O'Connor, is a solo show about an Irish actor in Hollywood lamenting a career spent acting as a chicken. The show scooped up awards at Adelaide Fringe, Dublin Fringe and Edinburgh Fringe. It will be performed October 1 through to October 4 in an intimate theatrette at University House in downtown Newcastle.
Funded by the City of Newcastle, with financial assistance from NSW Government, the New Annual concept shines a bright light on Newcastle's creative arts scene as well as featuring world-class artists performing in iconic venues.
Tory Loudon took the reins as New Annual festival director early in 2025 on a three-year contract. She has extensive experience in the arts world, including with the Sydney Opera House, Vivid festival and Sydney Theatre Company. She is a long-time fan of Newcastle's arts community.
"There were a few things I wanted to do when I got here," she says.
"One of them was to commission local stories, really focusing on who were the right people to tell those stories, the right places. So a lot of the program is site specific.
"I think for me the balance is how to take art out into parks and streets and beaches where people can hopefully stumble across it and discover something new. It also means we have to deal with the elements. If it means less capacity, then so be it."
The iconic Newcastle Ocean Baths was the first location Loudon wanted to lock in for the 2025 program.
"Not only are the Newcastle Ocean Baths loved, and such a gathering ground for everyone, where there are those communal spaces you get those intergenerational moments happening ... those really egalitarian spaces where people come together, where they maybe wouldn't come together otherwise," Loudon says.
Newcastle-based Whale Chorus Theatre Company was commissioned to create Meet me at the Baths, with Janie Gibson as director and Ang Collins as playwright.
The one-hour production will run at 11am and 2pm daily through the festival, with the audience invited to bring a picnic and a cushion to enjoy the show from the comfort of the concrete steps near the lap pool.
"We are using this beautiful place, a place of natural beauty," Gibson says.
"On that site we are telling the stories of all the different types of people who come and go from the place over time. And really focusing on human stories that are about people facing life's big changes. Whether that be love, death, all sorts of things."
The actors will be spread across the venue, and the audience will be provided cordless headphones so they can lock into the dialogue and soundtrack as they watch the passing parade of visitors (the baths will remain open during the show).
"It's definitely a feel-good, heartwarming spectrum of stories, like a tapestry of human stories," Gibson says.
"We don't shy away from stories of grief and loss, as well as love stories, comedy, family and hijinks."
Loudon has sat in on the early development sessions of the show.
"Ang has pulled out some stories that are very, very Newcastle. People who live here will recognise them," she says.
During the run, the baths will also feature The Bathers, a series of portraits of individuals and groups who frequent the baths, shot by Edwina Richards and Lee Illfield. It includes a homage to the photographers who have been shooting at the baths and surrounding beach for years, Richards says.
Richards was excited to be involved in the project, and sees her images as an extension of the "magical realism" of the Meet me at the Baths play.
Like Gibson and Collins, Richards is a Newcastle local. To her, the baths are special: "I've always found them, particularly at night, as that magical, secret, personal place. I've skinny-dipped all through my life there - I mean, who hasn't. I've always loved it, particularly as a teenager."
Tim Levinson, founder of Elefant Traks record label and best known as hip-hop artist Urthboy, has called Newcastle home for the past four years.
"Every time I talk to somebody from outside Newcastle about moving here, there's not a person who doesn't say, 'Ooh, wow, Newcastle's really happening, isn't it?' It's an interesting outsider's perspective," he says.
"It does mirror a preconception I had [of the city], a real DIY, not waiting around for somebody to give you permission to do your art; you just go and do it. And I love that attitude. It's awesome."
Levinson was given the task of curating the line-up for five nights of music at the Newcastle Ocean Baths for New Annual.
"When you get an opportunity to be creative, imaginative, about the role music can play in a public setting, that's an honour," Levinson says.
"I feel honoured to dream up ideas that might capture imagination.
"We are at a point in time, where the value of people coming together in public spaces, and sharing space, and connecting with each other, has never been more important."
The SOAK program of free concerts at sunset includes: Newcastle rockers Dust (September 27); beatbox artist Thom Thum, hip-hop artist Dobby and jazz pianist Freyja Garbett (September 28); TikTok sensation and Sydney-based pop violinist Joel Sunny, accompanied by dancers and singers (October 2); soul and R&B artists Mason Dane, A Girl, Dean Brady, Boy Soda and Finbar Stuart (October 3); and Newcastle DJs Jayteehazard and GNGR host the ultimate pool party (October 4).
A few favourite events return, including the opening night arts party on Friday, September 26, which will see Laman Street in front of Newcastle Art Gallery turned into a funky free function featuring singers Kira Piru, Davaura and Haiki Hands. Artworks from First Nations artists will be projected onto the exterior walls of the newly-expanded art gallery during the night.
The Global Gathering is also back, but at a new location, taking over Beaumont Street on Saturday, October 4, with entertaining MCs Benjamin Law and Jenny Wong running two stages with food demonstrations, music, dance and performances.
Of course, the ever-popular Spiegeltent will be an anchor of the festival. The Strut & Fret company's new production, La Ronde, will run from September 5 to October 5 in Civic Park. The show comes fresh from a first run at Adelaide Fringe, and promises the extraordinary array of fun and risque circus acts that Newcastle has come to love.
Public Art Trail A self-guided art trail featuring original, immersive art themes will be in place in shipping containers near Nobbys Beach and Camp Shotland. Works include:
Argo Escargot, by Jen Denzin. A cargo full of tall tales, lost histories and a healthy dose of the absurd.
Listen to a Starfish, by Diana Chester and Damien Ricketson. Lie down, close your eyes and listen to field recordings in a sensory sound installation.
Anchor, by Heidi Axelsen and Hugo Moline. Enter the camera obscura near Nobbys Beach and see the world differently.
Bio Assembly An immersive exhibition that brings together found sounds and everyday materials to reflect on our relationship with the environment. Watt Space Gallery.
Mini Putt Putt Golf, by Rosie Deacon and Jen Denzin. Tee-off on a colourful and whimsical 6-hole mini putt-putt course, built especially for New Annual.
Locked On Leading Indigenous Australian artist Karla Dickens presents a solo show at The Lock-Up addressing climate crises and ecofeminism, honouring the legacy of non-violent protest.
Alvin Sputnik: Deep Sea Explorer and Night Night, created by The Last Great Hunt, at Newcastle Museum.
POV, by re:group, at Newcastle Museum. A kid with a camera, two adults, no rehearsals. Just real reactions. An uplifting and unpredictable family portrait.
Seance and Flight, by Darkfield. Seance transforms a shipping container into a Victorian seance room, using darkness and sound to provide a 20-minute experience challenging what is real and imagined. Flight transforms a shipping container into the interior of an Airbus 320 aeroplane to reimagine what happens when an aircraft loses cabin pressure. Wheeler Place, every day.
First Rhythms First Nations composer and musician Adam Manning joins forces with contemporary ensemble, Australian Art Orchestra, for a performance that reimagines clapsticks, First Nations rhythms and visual art to explore the living pulse of Country. Newcastle Conservatorium, October 2.
Surge, curated by Tantrum Youth Arts. A punk explosion of new performance, music, and interactive visual and installation art. Newcastle Museum, October 2.
Ghosts Between Streams, by jazz musician Tom Avgenicos and an eight-piece ensemble. A groundbreaking collaboration featuring jazz, strings and visual art, showcasing the story of the Coquun/Hunter River. September 30, Ravella.
Dancefloor Conversion Therapy Jonny Hawkins was once on the straight and narrow, now they're on the queer and wide. A show for clubbers, ravers, party people and all who've been born again on the dancefloor. Join the built-in after party in the laneway at Bernie's Bar. Devonshire Street, September 27.
In the world of festivals, New Annual is still a baby. With only four years under its belt, it's still establishing an identity among the public, both locally and from further afield.
For festival director Loudon, the fact the festival is still a relative newcomer on the scene is an advantage.
"I see that as an opportunity, because it means you can play a little bit, take a few more risks," she says.
"Many people don't have as many preconceptions as to what they think the festival should be.
"I love the fact we've introduced a free public art trail this year. And there's a freedom that comes when something is still evolving. And again, it's important to make sure you keep offering things up in response to the environment around you. There is a cost of living crisis going on - I know how much it costs to buy tickets to go to shows, like, 70 per cent of the program is free or low cost ($25). That was really important.
"We want people to come, and be able to enjoy it, discover new artists, see their city differently. That can only work if people come, so you try to think about how to remove some of the barriers.
"You don't have to go into a gallery. You will stumble across art, in shipping containers, or at the Newcastle Baths, hopefully as you're out and about doing your daily work.
"We are taking the art out to people and meeting them where they already go and congregate."
Newcastle lord mayor Ross Kerridge is eagerly looking forward to this year's program.
"There was a need for a more mainstream focus and particularly an increase in local content [in New Annual], and that's been listened to," he says. "And, with local content, they've commissioned works around local themes, and particularly around Newcastle Baths, and I think that's great."
The mayor is confident the program is a step in the direction for his personal mantra: "I'm happy for international superstars to come to Newcastle, but what I really want is for international superstars to come from Newcastle."