what's on
Current Event
30 Years on from the TRC: A New Play Reflects on the Act of Forgiveness
09-19 April 2026
The Market Theatre in partnership with Qendra Multimedia in Kosovo presents “Under the Shade of a Tree I Sat and Wept”, a piercing and irreverent new play that explores national reconciliation and public forgiveness through South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and Kosovo’s Movement for the Reconciliation of Blood Feuds.
Through archive and newly-collected testimonials, the highly visual, and often playful production reflects on the lessons that the Movement for the Reconciliation of Blood Feuds and the TRC offer Kosovars, South Africans and the world today. The production coincides with the 30th anniversary of the start of the TRC hearings, adding its voice in interrogating the commission’s unfinished business. The play questions national processes of truth-telling, forgiveness and reconciliation, and probes what liberates us in today’s post-truth age.
current Event
The Word N Sound Poetry League
11 April - 13 Dec 2026
The Word N Sound Poetry League is one of South Africa’s leading spoken word platforms, bringing together emerging and established poets in a vibrant live slam series. For over a decade, it has been a home for bold voices, powerful performance, and poetic excellence.
Now in Season 12, the League runs monthly from April to November 2026, creating a journey of competition, creativity, and community, before culminating in December with the Word N Sound Poetry Festival, a three-day celebration of spoken word and live literature.
upcoming Event
Manana – Mending Broken Hearts Tour
17-19 April 2026
MANANA ANNOUNCES THE MENDING BROKEN HEARTS TOUR — HIS FIRST EVER NATIONWIDE THEATRE TOUR
A Love Letter to South Africa Spanning an Entire Career
Johannesburg, South Africa: Soulful singer-songwriter and producer, Manana has announced his highly anticipated Mending Broken Hearts Tour, a landmark nationwide theatre experience that will see the acclaimed artist take the stage in six cities across South Africa.
upcoming Event
The Vault
23 April 2026
Multi-award-winning songstress and Standard Bank Young Artist for Music 2023, Zoë Modiga, presents “The Vault: Album Launch Live at The Market Theatre”. This new wonder world era will take place on 23 April 2026, staged on the iconic John Kani Theatre stage.
It is brought to you by creative and cultural hub, Yelloëwax.
“The Vault” is Modiga’s self-written and produced fourth album, characterised by an experimental, alternative-soul sonic landscape. It is a love-themed time machine with 20 years’ worth of unreleased music dating from 2007 to 2025, composed alongside some of the career-defining songs in her discography. It is a love-themed time machine with 20 years’ worth of unreleased music dating from 2007 to 2025, composed alongside some of the career-defining songs in her discography.
upcoming Event
Echoes of the Soul
01 May 2026
Multi-award-winning Afro-soul artist, composer and performer, Berita, gears up for a landmark, one-night-only music concert performance – Echoes of the Soul – at The Market Theatre. Supported by the SAMPRA Development Fund, the concert will take place on 1 May 2026 in the John Kani Theatre.
Born in Zimbabwe, Berita is a multi-award-winning singer-songwriter whose music resonates deeply with audiences across Africa and beyond. First introduced to South Africa in 2012 through her debut single ‘Thandolwethu’, Berita's music is a rich blend of Afro-soul, jazz and pop influences, offering a soundtrack for life's diverse experiences. Her music explores themes of love, resilience and empowerment, resonating with audiences worldwide.
upcoming Event
Afropocalypse
07-23 May 2026
Afropocalypse, originally produced by The Market Theatre Laboratory in 2024 and directed by Daniel Buckland, returns to The Market Theatre for another professional season. This follows the show’s successful professional debut in 2025, which earned raving reviews.
This energetic and hugely imaginative production follows the journey of a group of story tellers in an apocalyptic setting as they share their fables of hope and resilience.
upcoming Event
Dada Masilo's Hamlet
16-17 May 2026
The Dance Factory in association with The Market Theatre brings you Dada Masilo’s Hamlet just prior to shows in Wiesbaden and London. The work is restaged by dancer/choreographer Llewellyn Mnguni, who also plays the role of Hamlet’s mother.
Upcoming Event
Dr Mbongeni Ngema: This is my story
30 May 2026
A much-anticipated documentary on the life and times of acclaimed theatre-maker, musician and writer, Dr Mbongeni Ngema, is set to premiere at The Market Theatre on Saturday, 30 May 2026.
Themed “Celebrating South African Heroes and Heroines”, the screening will honour the legacy of Dr Ngema as a powerful voice that spoke courageously against an oppressive regime.
Upcoming Event
Rise '76
5-28 june 2026
Commissioned by The Market Theatre and The Baxter Theatre to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Youth Uprisings, two-time Fleur du Cap award-winning playwright-director Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni presents Rise ’76: The Story of June 16th a powerful new South African work of historical fiction.
Set in the fictional Molefe Secondary School in Soweto, the play traces a community on the brink, as students, teachers and families confront the devastating implications of Afrikaans being imposed as a medium of instruction.
Upcoming Event
PRIMA FACIE by Suzie Miller
17 Sep - 04 Oct 2026
How Now Brown Cow presents the South African premiere of Suzie Miller’s award-winning Prima Facie directed by celebrated theatre maker Neil Coppen (Isidlamlilo/TheFire Eater; Animal Farm; Tin Bucket Drum). Danica De La Rey Jones (Hunting Jessica Brok; Unseen; For Colored Girls) performs the role of Tessa, a brilliant young barrister, who climbs her way up from working class origins to the top of her game: defending, cross examining and winning.
Tessa believes in the legal system until a brutal attack turns her world upside down as she navigates the same system she once championed. Now put on trial herself, re-traumatized through her cross-examination, she finds herself questioning everything she believed about justice.
NEWS
The Market Theatre @ 50: Still Home to South African Music
This year, The Market Theatre celebrates an incredible milestone: 50 years of culture‑defining storytelling. For five decades, music has been one of the theatre’s most powerful forces, shaping its legacy and amplifying voices that have gone on to influence the sound of the nation.