“The NSW Government has secured the Australian premiere of Tabac Rouge as a Sydney Festival exclusive,” Mr Stoner said.

“Audiences will be delighted by the multi-talented Mr Thierrée who will keep everyone enthralled with acrobatics, music, dance and acting.

“Mr Thierrée is returning to Sydney Festival for the fourth time, after sell-out runs of Junebug Symphony (2003), Bright Abyss (2006) and Au Revoir Parapluie (2008).”

James Thierrée has taken on the roles of director, choreographer and set designer for Tabac Rouge, and has pushed the boundaries of dance, contemporary circus and theatre to deliver a performance that is complemented by his mother, Victoria Thierrée’s, costume design and a dynamic soundtrack that ranges from Matthieu Chedid to Vivaldi.

“Tabac Rouge joins a fantastic arts and entertainment program for Sydney and NSW on offer throughout the final month of 2014 and the beginning of 2015, which includes the Sydney International Art Series, Tropfest, Dirty Dancing the Musical and ARIA week,” Mr Stoner said.

“Securing productions such as Tabac Rouge, enriches the cultural fabric of NSW, and enhances our global city’s reputation as Australia’s cultural tourism hub, and contributes to the NSW economy,” he said.

Tabac Rouge will run from 7-23 January at Sydney Theatre and features a highly skilled cast of acrobats and dancers who weave a physically daring production with spectacular theatrics under Thierrée’s unique direction.

Sydney Festival Director, Lieven Bertels, was enthralled with Tabac Rouge when he first saw the performance describing it as “a feast of visual poetry”.

“In his largest work to date, James Thierrée not only shines in the lead role but also demonstrates his skills as a choreographer. After the success of Vivienne Westwood’s fashion opera Semele Walk (2013) and Sasha Waltz’s choreographed version of Dido and Aeneas (2014), Sydney Festival is proud to present James Thierrée’s new masterpiece as another Australian exclusive for a season that will encompass our whole Festival period.”

Last year’s Festival featured 124 sold out performances with over 124,000 tickets sold across 445 performances.

The full Sydney Festival 2015 program will be announced in October, however visitors are encouraged to book and take advantage of great value travel packages now to avoid disappointment.

For more information on Tabac Rouge please go to: sydneyfestival.org.au/tabac

The 2015 Sydney Festival program will be announced on October 23.

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