Latest news with #TheMarketTheatre
Time Out
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Award-winning The Last Country comes to The Market Theatre
Experience the moving theatre play that has been captivating audiences around South Africa, The Last Country, at The Market Theatre this May. For eight years, the play has been performed to sold-out venues in Durban, including theatres, hostels, schools, universities, churches, taxi ranks, and community halls. It even played at the 2024 National Arts Festival. The play has now made its way to Johannesburg. It draws attention to the difficulties faced by migrant women after they reach the city, giving us a peek of the realities of how they are often mistreated - a reality we often choose to turn a blind eye to. It is based on the lives of four women: Ofrah from the DRC, MaThwala from Ndwedwe in KwaZulu-Natal, Aamiina from Somalia, and Aneni from Zimbabwe. Mpume Mthombeni, Faniswa Yisa, Andile Vilakazi and Nompilo Maphumulo play these characters. The women share their painful experiences that forced them to leave their homes, including poverty, war, and injustice. Coming to Durban to seek a better life, the women face the realities of living in a foreign land which has its own struggles. They are often victims of xenophobia and are often forced to embrace injustice. They also deal with the complexity of language barriers, find themselves living in unimaginable conditions, and fight for crumbs while trying to make the best of whatever situation they find themselves in. The play even shows the struggles that women from rural areas within South Africa face when they migrate to the cities to make a living. With many migrants living in the different cities within South Africa, the play plays a vital role in shaping attitudes toward them. It offers clues into what everyone can do to make a positive change and how our cities can be friendlier. The play's opening took place on Friday, 16 May at The Market Theatre's Mannie Manim. The room was packed to capacity as people of different races came together to watch the play that moved the audience, with some even crying during the play. The heartwarming and captivating play raises the importance of ubuntu, kindness and justice, and is worth watching. Catch it at The Market Theatre from 15 May until 1 June 2025.
News24
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News24
Black pride and African history take centre stage in Mantsopa at The Market Theatre
The play Mantsopa, which is currently being staged at The Market Theatre in Johannesburg, highlights the ridiculousness of tribalism, as the similarities between the Basotho people's traditional dance mokhibo and the amaXhosa's ukuxhensa were impossible to ignore. In fact, a friend who travelled to Ethiopia last year said the traditional dance in that country was also similar to the above mentioned, arguing that the links between African people predated colonialism. Written and directed by veteran actor and theatre guru, Jerry Mofokeng wa Makhetha, Mantsopa chronicles the life of the matriarch who dismantled patriarchy before this was popular. She did this with her strong connection to a higher power that would propel her to become a trusted adviser to King Moshoeshoe of Lesotho. So powerful was Mantsopa that, had she lived in this era, instead of the 1800s, the playwright says, through one of the actors, that buildings, national roads and monuments would be named after her and authors telling her story would be penning bestsellers. Alas, the play alone is a step in the right direction towards rewriting formidable black women into history. An equally powerful matriarch in Mantsopa is veteran actress Florence Masebe, who plays a family elder. Thespians are hailed daily for their authentic portrayal of their characters but one has to salute Masebe for her firm grasp on indigenous South African languages in their purest form. Mofokeng wa Makhetha described Mantsopa as a pioneer in women's fight for equality, saying her power defied gender, politics and even culture. So fearless was she that she would not even bow to the feared mercenaries. He referenced an era when women were prohibited from getting an education, adding that once they gained access into those spaces, they outperformed their aspirations. Mofokeng wa Makhetha said: He explained the conflicting reports around Mantsopa's banishment, with some historians saying advisers of the king were starting to question: 'Ke mang Morena mo? [Who is the actual king here].' Others claimed that the ban was self-inflicted as her marital family felt unsafe following her husband's death. Through drama, music and poetry, the cast awakens the audience to the interconnectedness of African customs. For example, they unpack the practice of 'ho kenella motho', 'seya ntlo' or 'ukungenelwa', which is when a relative of a deceased husband takes over the widow as his new wife. While this may have incited laughter from the audience, the scene where physical violence and dominance are used to coerce a woman into marriage touches on the gender-based violence and rape culture women continue to grapple with in a different millennium. In fact, to me, the insults that the character is met with for rejecting these advances read as parallel to femicide in contemporary society. Today, a lot of women lose their lives at the hands of men who are not man enough to handle rejection. I found it unfortunate that the play was mostly performed in English, especially as there is ongoing discourse about the preservation of African history and the indigenous languages. The director said: While the play brings audiences closer to Mantsopa's bloodline and the intimidating responsibility of carrying on her legacy, at its core it is an educational piece of theatre that reunites African people with their identity. Mofokeng wa Makhetha reminds audiences that native Africans' relationship with God and their knowledge of this higher power predated colonisation. Take a sho't left to The Market Theatre for this and other lessons about African tribal relations and how these are woven into contemporary society. The season, which was originally meant to run until 11 May, has been extended to 18 May, due to public demand.
News24
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- News24
Top theatre picks to brighten cold days across Mzansi
Supplied 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 — 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.
