Reviews, events and sneak peeks from Johannesburg’s theatre scene.
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Soft Vengeance: Graham Hopkins Brings Albie Sachs to Life
At 91, Albie Sachs remains one of the most quietly extraordinary figures in South Africa's history: a man who survived a car bomb, helped write the Constitution, and chose grace over revenge at every turn. This new one-person play captures his remarkable life with warmth, lyricism, and a central performance of rare emotional honesty.
Behind The Crimson Door: Where Fashion Takes Flight
What happens when South Africa's most theatrically-minded fashion designer partners with one of Johannesburg's most daring cirque companies? Behind The Crimson Door is the thrilling answer: a collision of couture, aerial performance, and storytelling that you simply have to see to believe. Go for the athleticism, the beauty, the fashion, and the music. Let the show do the rest.
Under the Streetlight: A Review of The Return of Elvis du Pisanie
Paul Slabolepszy's beloved classic returns to the Joburg stage in a production that is funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately, deeply uplifting. Ashley Dowds builds an entire world from nothing but a street lamp and his own extraordinary skill, drawing audiences into one of the most distinctly South African stories ever written for the theatre.
Tristan und Isolde: A Newcomer's Guide to Five Hours of Bliss
Wagner's Tristan und Isolde is one of the most extraordinary works in the history of Western music, and experiencing it on the big screen is something close to a revelation. This is a review for anyone who has ever wondered whether opera might be for them, and for anyone who already knows it is.
A Golden Ticket Worth Finding
Roald Dahl's story of golden tickets and quiet goodness is as potent as ever, and Pretoria Youth Theatre's production brings it to life with infectious energy, committed young performers, and a warmth that fills the room. A joyful treat for families and anyone who still believes in a little magic.
AV-A-LAUGH-TA: Alan Committie's 28th Solo Show and He's Still Swinging
Twenty-eight solo shows in, Alan Committie remains one of the great constants of South African comedy, and his latest, AV-A-LAUGH-TA, is exactly the kind of warm, wordplay-filled evening the moment calls for. It may not reinvent the wheel, but it spins it with tremendous affection and considerable skill. Right now, that is more than enough.
Back to the Swamp, and Glad to Be There
Shrek The Musical Jr. is back, and it is as joyful, irreverent, and quietly radical as ever. This is a fairy tale for everyone who has ever felt like they didn't quite fit the mould, told with colour, comedy, and a whole lot of heart. A brilliant afternoon out for the whole family.
The Opera Singer: What It Costs to Be Extraordinary
What does it cost a person to be truly extraordinary? The Opera Singer explores that question with sharp wit, genuine warmth, and a fearlessness that is rare in new South African writing.
A Second Encounter with The Tramp
A one-man show exploring Charlie Chaplin's life through his most famous creation asks a genuinely philosophical question: who came first, the man or the character? This is theatre with genuine depth that reveals new layers with every viewing.
Nobody Told Me: Theatre as Historical Reckoning
Nobody Told Me brings the Warsaw Ghetto to life through inventive stagecraft, committed performances, and a large ensemble that moves with purposeful energy across the stage. It's powerful, immersive theatre that reminds us why bearing witness to history matters, particularly in our current moment when the lessons of the past feel urgently relevant.
When the Ensemble Steals the Show: Joseph Returns to Joburg
In a musical named after its title character, the ensemble steals the show. This spectacular production of Joseph proves that star power isn't everything, sometimes the brothers outshine the dreamer. With incredible athleticism, flawless harmonies, and unapologetic camp, this cast breathes new life into a beloved classic. Pure theatrical joy from start to finish.
The Price of Genius: Amy Winehouse – The Diva and Her Demons (Review)
Fifteen years after we lost Amy Winehouse, her voice still stops us in our tracks. This intimate tribute captures the groove and soul of her unforgettable music, but left me asking: where are the fearless artists of today? Where are the voices blending genres, baring their souls, refusing to play it safe?
Finding Comfort in Not Quite Fitting In: Stuart Taylor's Odd Man Out
Stuart Taylor's Odd Man Out celebrates the courage it takes to exist authentically in a world that demands we fit neatly into boxes. With clever comedy, unexpected magic tricks, and genuine warmth, Taylor reminds us that the places where we feel like outsiders might actually be the most interesting parts of who we are.
When Friendship Becomes a Casualty of War: A Review of Sarajevo
This haunting play about three childhood friends torn apart by the Bosnian War refuses to look away from war's darkest truths. In an intimate setting lit by trembling torchlight, it asks uncomfortable questions about witness, complicity, and what happens when ideology transforms ordinary people into monsters. Brave, necessary, and devastatingly relevant.
Finding Gold in the Cracks: A Review of Beauty in the Broken
Gaynor Young's return to the stage after twenty years is a masterclass in resilience, a story not about surviving tragedy, but about choosing to live fully in its aftermath. Beauty in the Broken reminds us that the cracks in our lives, when repaired with courage and love, can become the most beautiful parts of who we are.
Between Two Worlds: A Review of Becoming Benno
In Becoming Benno, Ben Voss transforms the theatre into an immigration holding room where dreams hang in the balance and delivers a story that feels like a warm embrace even as it explores the cold realities of modern migration.
The Frog Prince and the Art of Interactive Storytelling
The Frog Prince and Other Fantastic Stories transforms young audience members from passive observers into active heroes of their own adventures. This isn't just children's entertainment, it's interactive storytelling at its finest.
Striking a Chord: When Family Harmony Becomes Art
Adrian and Emma-Jean Galliard's Striking a Chord showcases authentic artistry born from genuine family connection. Witnessing 16-year-old Emma-Jean's vocal maturation alongside her father's pride, supported by sensitive piano arrangements, creates an evening that's both technically impressive and deeply moving.
Bodies in Motion, Hearts in Flight: La Bella Soars at The Cirk
La Bella at The Cirk transcends traditional burlesque, weaving aerial artistry and athletic prowess into a spellbinding celebration of womanhood. With performers who make the impossible look effortless, this Women's Month tribute combines spectacle with genuine heart — a love letter written in muscle memory and sequins.
In the Waiting Room of Power: The Dumb Waiter Delivers Masterful Tension
The Dumb Waiter creates seventy minutes of masterful tension that feels both deceptively simple and profoundly unsettling. It’s a contemporary meditation on power and obedience, with compelling performances that make the rising dread palpable.
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