Top theatre picks to brighten cold days across Mzansi

News24

29-04-2025

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Mankind's unkindness to the environment has brought forth climate change, global warming, greenhouse gas emissions and other scientific terms that should have never been invented.
Sadly, life does not afford us the time to bawl about self-inflicted harm, so we must forge forward.
Do allow these steps forward to lead you to the auditorium of a theatre near you because very few things come to the storytelling prowess of Mzansi's creatives in bringing on the heat and getting audiences fired up.
That said, here are your May theatre options, as we have consistently brought them to you for the past few months.
Johannesburg
• The classic romantic tragedy of teenage lovers Romeo and Juliet once again sets the Joburg Theatre alight, this time under the directorship of Mandla Gaduka from 30 April to 11 May.
Joburg Theatre
This one might be a tearjerker, so don't forget your tissues when heading to Braamfontein to witness this emotive portrayal of the story, which the director described as being told from the fiery passion that only a black South African cast can master.
• Speaking of classics, the trailblazing Ladysmith Black Mambazo, who took Africa to the world with Grammy award-winning music, is on stage for four nights only from 1 to 4 May, also at the Joburg Theatre.
Let the iconic Joseph Shabalala's vision walk you down a path of African renaissance that, to quote Lebo Mashile, is 'wrapped in a ribbon of rhythm.'
Meet the incredible cast of 'Mantsopa' at The Market Theatre! A celebration of legacy, music & African womanhood.
Florence Masebe, Leomile, Tseko Monaheng, Itumeleng, Lebohang Banyane & more! Written & directed by Dr. Jerry Mofokeng wa Makhetha.
?? 30 April – 11 May 2025 pic.twitter.com/l5A2x4Regr
— The Market Theatre (@MarketTheatre) April 15, 2025
• Creatives heed the call to entertain and educate at the Festival of Excellence in Dramatic Arts, which assembles performers, writers, directors and scholars to create and perform original or scripted pieces.
Taking place at the Joburg Theatre from 13 May to 1 June, the festival bows out with the adjudicators choosing four…or more…plays to battle it out at the finals.
• The Market Theatre puts the resilience of African women under the spotlight in Mantsopa, directed by celebrated thespian Jerry Mofokeng wa Makhetha.
Inspired by a true story, the play walks audiences through how King Moshoeshoe's advisor Mantsopa navigated famine and subsequent cannibalism.
From 30 April to 11 May, the existence of the Basotho people takes centre stage as the cast highlights women's contribution in shaping history.
Durban
• For one night only on 7 May, Phakade Lami and Soft Life hitmaker Nomfundo Moh takes Durbanites on a soulful ride with the vocals that have endeared her to her fans across the country.
Music lovers connect with the young talent at the Barnyard Theatre in the warm city's Sun Coast, where they gather to celebrate her award-winning artistry.
• The country's favourite cousin… well, age dictates that he's now the uncle but humour me… Barry Hilton will have audiences falling off their seats from 22 to 25 May at the Rhumbelow Theatre.
The veteran whose signature humour is a brand of clean, family-friendly comedy that has made global audiences' stomachs hurt for decades promises to remind the old why he's so legendary and make the young wish they were born sooner.
Barry Hilton Facebook page
• Kim Blanche Adonis brings Mike van Graan's satire My Fellow South Africans to life with her uncanny ability to switch between multiple characters and Mzansi's colourful colloquialisms.
Comedy, singing, poetry and drama come together for two nights from 8 to 9 May at the Playhouse Company, and creativity becomes a tool to depict racism, corruption and other atrocities that have plagued the country for many, many years.
Cape Town
• From 24 April to 10 May, Mrs. Mitchell Comes To Town…town being the Baxter Theatre Centre in this context. This manhunt for a killer who has citizens literally fearing for their lives is a crime enthusiast's dream…or nightmare, perhaps? If you dare, accompany a distraught mother as she frantically searches for her son, whose soul may or may not be meandering about in limbo with no rest in sight.
• An all-African cast presents a bold, African-futurist reimagining of the classic opera Aida.
The unlikely love story of an enslaved Ethiopian princess and an Egyptian commander unfolds at the Cape Town Opera from 23 to 31 May.
Gregory Maqoma's internationally acclaimed choreography amplifies this theatrical spectacle in the backdrop of war, cultural conflict and other jaw-dropping themes.
• Join Hedda Gabler and her husband Jurg's marital bliss as the newlyweds return from their honeymoon. Bliss turns to gloom when the bride's former flame Lovborg reemerges just as her boredom with marriage peaks.
The contemporary adaptation of playwright Henrik Ibsen's Hamlet brings the fiercely defiant Hedda to the stage from 1 to 24 May.
We may still be in autumn, but owing to the climate crisis, the cartwheels that the weather has been indulging in, coupled with the tireless raindrops, seem to be highlighting what a bully winter actually is.
Wherever you are in Mzansi, gather the family and cosy up in the theatre as we brace ourselves for the real winter.