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Woza Albert!

Woza Albert! makes a highly anticipated return to The Market Theatre for a strictly limited run of two weeks as part of the Theatre’s 50th anniversary celebrations. It was first created and staged at The Market Theatre in 1981 by Mbongeni Ngema, Percy Mtwa, and Barney Simon. Through biting satire and chilling truthfulness, the creators explored what would happen if Morena were to return to a racist, oppressive apartheid South Africa.

The current version is performed by Hamilton Dhlamini – who also directs it – and Thulani Mtsweni. The two actors move between characters to capture the daily realities of Black lives under apartheid.
Set to run in the Barney Simon Theatre from 15 July – 26 July 2026, this hugely influential piece of protest theatre promises an honest, raw and hopeful portrayal of the apartheid regime’s brutality as it satirically revisits the ground we walk on today.

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Almost 50 years later, the play has enjoyed successful tours and rave reviews at the Edinburgh Festival, Berlin, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia and more. It has also won numerous international awards and is now among South Africa’s stage classics read in schools nationally and is studied worldwide.


About its return during the crucial 50th birthyear of The Market Theatre, Artistic Director Greg Homann says: “Woza Albert! is woven into the DNA of The Market Theatre. Created here in the early years of our existence, it stands as one of the seminal works that helped define both our stages and the South African story we have been home to for the past 50 years. Bringing it back now acknowledges where we come from as a nation, as well as how our story continues to evolve.”