Josephine Wants To Dance Monkey Baa Theatre Company
3 – 15 January 2025
In the Playhouse
Kids & Families
Ages 3+ | Josephine is a kangaroo who loves to dance. Despite the protests of her little brother Joey, Josephine ventures into town where the city ballet is performing Swan Lake. With the prima ballerina out injured, will all her dancing dreams come true?
Based on the book by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley
Adapted by Eva Di Cesare, Sandie Eldridge and Tim McGarry
Illustrations: Bruce Whatley
| Date | Time |
| Friday 3 January 2025 | 10.30am, 12.30pm |
| Saturday 4 January 2025 | 10.30am, 12.30pm |
| Sunday 5 January 2025 | 10.30am, 12.30pm |
| Wednesday 8 January 2025 | 10.30am, 12.30pm |
| Thursday 9 January 2025 | 10.30am, 12.30pm |
| Friday 10 January 2025 | 10.30am, 12.30pm |
| Saturday 11 January 2025 | 10.30am, 12.30pm |
| Sunday 12 January 2025 | 10.30am, 12.30pm |
| Tuesday 14 January 2025 | 6pm |
| Wednesday 15 January 2025 | 10.30am, 12.30pm |
| Standard | Price |
| Premium | $49 |
| A Reserve | $39 |
| B Reserve | $29 |
| Insiders | Price |
| Premium | $45 |
| A Reserve | $35 |
| B Reserve | $25 |
| Groups 6+ | To make a group purchase please call +61 2 9250 7700 |
| Premium | $45 |
| A Reserve | $35 |
| B Reserve | $25 |
$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.
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In English
Wheelchair accessible:
There are a number of wheelchair and companion seating locations in our theatres. To book accessible seating contact Box Office:
Telephone
+61 2 9250 7777
(Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm AEST)
Email bookings@sydneyoperahouse.com
Find out more about accessibility at Sydney Opera House.
Run time
This performance runs for approximately 50 minutes with no interval.
Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
Age
Recommended for ages 3+.
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.
Adaptors
Eva Di Cesare, Sandra Eldridge and Tim McGarry
Director
Jonathan Biggins
Composer/ Lyricist
Phil Scott
Choreographer
Tim Harbour
Set and Costume Designer
James Browne
Lighting Designer
Emma Lockhart Wilson
Sound Designer
David Bergman
Musical Director
Michael Tyak
Performers
Lily Baulderstone, Nina Carmen, Hannah Gwatkin, Brodie Masini
Understudy
Georgia Unsworth, Callum Slater
Theatre DiariesIf you have children to take, then take them. If you don’t, still go. Don’t be shy.
Useful information:
Jump into the tutu-tastic adventure of self-discovery, ballet and... kangaroos
The beloved Australian picture book by Jackie French and Bruce Whatley bounces onto the Opera House stage as Sydney's summer blockbuster musical for the family.
Josephine is a kangaroo who loves to dance. Her little brother, Joey, tells her kangaroos don't dance, they hop - but Josephine continues to point her toes and leap through the air. When a ballet troupe comes to the sleepy town of Shaggy Gully, Josephine desperately wants to dance like the ballerinas in pink tutus and silk ballet shoes.
On the day of the first performance the ballet company is in trouble. The prima ballerina twists her ankle and the understudy has a splinter in her toe. Who can dance the lead role? Josephine's talents are called upon to help save the day. Can she do it, and more importantly, does it matter that she's a kangaroo?
Sydney Opera House presents a Monkey Baa Theatre Company production
Meet the cast
Lily Baulderstone
Lily is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Theatre. Prior to this, she completed a Certificate lV in Music Theatre at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA). In her final year at VCA, Lily performed the title role of Flora Mezaros in Flora, The Red Menace and was Dance Captain/Lucy Schmeeler in On the Town.
Since graduating, Lily’s professional credits include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Crossroads Live/GFO) as Ensemble/U.S Veruca Salt, Into the Woods (Watch This) as Little Red Riding Hood, 9-5 the Musical (Crossroads Live/GFO) as Ensemble/U.S Doralee Rhodes & Roz Keith and most recently, Cruel Intentions: The 90s Musical (David Venn Enterprises) as Ensemble/U.S Cecile Caldwell. Most recently Lily understudied the role of Sophie in the Australian return tour of Mamma Mia: The Musical.
Screen credits include the lead in a promotional video for Puma, launching the Queensland Maroons 2021 Jersey, Hopelessly Devoted To You (Fremantlemedia) and Behind The News (ABC).
Nina Carmen
Nina played the role of Ali in the Australian tour of Mamma Mia! The Musical and performs as a triple threat again in Josephine Wants to Dance at both Arts Centre Melbourne and the Sydney Opera House.
They have also performed in A Midsummer Night's Dream with Serpentine Arts Theatre Company as Hermia, Alice in Wonderland with SK Entertainment as Tweedle Dum, and was a featured soloist at the 2021 Queensland Symphony Orchestra's Music Theatre Gala with
Lorina Gore and Simon Gleeson.
Nina was also a part of the 2021 and 2022 School Touring performance team with Meerkat Productions, touring throughout QLD and NSW schools. They graduated from the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith in 2020. Throughout their studies, they performed in roles such as the title character in The Drowsy Chaperone, Barbara Finn in Elegies: A Song Cycle and cast as Elphaba in Wicked (cancelled due to COVID-19).
Hannah Gwatkin
Hannah is a vivacious cabaret performer, singer, actor, dancer, and saxophonist. She holds a Bachelor of Musical Theatre from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University and a Diploma of Music (Contemporary Performance). Credits include Eco-Worrier: A Climate Cabaret (Sydney Fringe), Not Today (Rogue Projects), Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines—Singer, A Chorus Line (Mad About Theatre), Big Blue Sky: A Peter Garrett Story (NIDA) and The Boy from Oz: The Arena Musical (Overtur). She currently also runs her own eco-friendly party entertainment business, Little Footprint Parties.
Brodie Masini
Brodie holds a Cert IV in Music Theatre from WAAPA in his hometown of Perth, where he worked on several theatre and film productions, as well as with Echelon Productions as part of their Book Week musicals and with EG Incursions as a workshop facilitator. Graduating from NIDA with a BFA in Acting in 2020, Brodie has since appeared in a number of musical theatre productions including 35mm: A Musical Exhibition (Little Triangle), The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Little Triangle) and Tick, Tick... Boom! (Good Time Theatrics) and has worked extensively in voiceover for various national and international brands. Outside of performing, Brodie is also a traffic reporter with the Australian Traffic Network and a pub trivia host with Fame Trivia.
About the company
For over 26 years Monkey Baa has presented award-winning theatrical experiences that inspire and empower audiences across Australia. They are one of Australia's widest touring companies, with over 29 national tours to 135 regional and remote communities, 5 international tours and 4,000 performances reaching more than 1.5 million young people.
Monkey Baa empowers young people to shape their lives through inspiring theatre and creative experiences. They create, present and tour performances powered by imagination, with eye-opening ideas and boundless fun.
Their vision is a world where all young people are emboldened by creativity and their mission is to empower young people to shape and navigate their lives through inspirational theatre and creative experiences.
Plan your visit
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 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.
Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times. Babies aged 0-2 years old at the time of a performance may be seated on an adult’s lap. Children 2 years and older will need to hold a standard ticket.
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.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and Western Foyers. The public lift to the 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.
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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