Gabo Legwala

Gabo Legwala

‘Gabo Legwala’: An Autobiographical Interrogation of Masculinities

The Market Theatre’s artistic focus on parental relationships continues as it eagerly welcomes freshly baked work, ‘Gabo Legwala’, which generally translates into a coward’s home. The exceptionally crafted poetic theatre piece with music will run on the Mannie Manim stage from 17  September – 12 October 2025, following its explosive debut at the National Arts Festival.

‘Gabo Legwala’ is written and performed by Modise Sekgothe, who is only the second artist to be honoured with the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Poetry, after Koleka Putuma. It is directed by TheatreDuo’s Mahlatsi Mokgonyana, himself a joint recipient of the 2022 Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Theatre. Multi-instrumentalist, Yogin Sullaphen, is behind the live scoring alongside vocalist, Phumla Siyobi.

Through the memoirs of a boy anxiously journeying towards manhood unsupervised by the very man he needs, ‘Gabo Legwala’ takes us into the psychology of children growing up without present fathers. Set in the township of Soweto, the script further refutes the burden of performative heroism placed on boys, asserting that bullies invite sorrow to their loved ones, while peace reigns in the home of the coward—as peaceful as the chaos of township life allows.

A fusion of textual boldness and narrative vulnerability, ‘Gabo Legwala’ makes a compelling argument for restraint as an equally active response to provocation. “A little boy’s life is lived constantly on the brink of war. A persistent pushing, prodding and testing for weakness. Shoving, shocking and shaking for meekness…I was taught that conflict avoidance is virtue, that violence is vice,” the script reads.

With an exceptionally poetic delivery, Modise narrates different moments of his life and the figures that shaped the model man he’s perpetually in pursuit of, like his mother, sisters and the ever-present shadow of his late, absent father. As he wrestles his father’s lingering spectre, he offers an exploration of loss, grief and generational legacy.

“At its core, this is a meditation on what it means to be a man when manhood is inherited in fragments—from soccer fields, kung fu movies, playground fights, bullying and boyish bravado. As we watch the speaker wrestle with bullying, belonging, and the ghosts of the men who failed him, the play dares to ask: What wounds do men carry when they’re raised without their fathers? What does healing look like when you’ve never seen it modeled? When is walking away an act of mere cowardice? When is it wisdom?” Modise shares.

However, the work itself is not an indulgence in despair. Rather, it’s as much an admonition of dead-beat behaviour as it is a celebration of the women who are left to raise children on their own. As a result, Modise aims to present this work in honour of his mother and sisters, who created the memorable rituals that underpin the script.

‘Gabo Legwala’ is a call to hope: to have faith in men’s potential to avoid violent conflict in a nation with alarming abuse and intimate partner murder rates; to assure the boy-child that avoidance, too, is conflict resolution; to pray in the song of Simphiwe Dana that “sizophum’ elokishini”. Afterall, long and abundant life awaits all “magwala” – the fearful ones – who, like Modise, heeded their elders’ persistent calls when they said, “Ba tlogele, gabo legwala a golliwe!”

As The Market Theatre rolls out its artistic programme with a significant focus on issues relating to father figures, ‘Gabo Legwala’ will join Zwakala Festival-winning play, ‘Fatherhood’, as well as the beautifully crafted Naledi-nominated dance-theatre piece, ‘Father & I’. Later on, the internationally acclaimed play, ‘Barber Shop Chronicles’, which also leans into black masculinities and brotherhood, will have its debut on the African continent to carry the conversation forward.

According to Greg Homann, Artistic Director at The Market Theatre Foundation, it’s an honour to stage work by yet another recipient of the 2025 Standard Bank Young Artist, having already completed a critically successful run with Calvin Ratladi (2025 Standard Bank Young Artist for Theatre) and preparing to host Asanda Ruda (2025 Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance) as part of the upcoming JOMBA @ The Market. This, adds Homann, reaffirms The Market Theatre as a space where bold young artists and culture-shifting voices find expression and support.

Don’t miss ‘Gabo Legwala’, an honest autobiographical depiction of South African masculinities at The Market Theatre between 17 September – 12 October 2025. Enjoy a perfect blend of music, spoken word and storytelling as the award-winning Modise Sekgothe unpacks the painful truths about contemporary South African households.

Originally produced by National Arts Festival Makhanda with support from Standard Bank South Africa, Gabo Legwala is presented by The Market Theatre in collaboration with Modise Sekgothe and Theatre Duo & Co.

Tickets are available on Webtickets from R140, with special discounts for the preview performances and all Wednesdays at half-price.

Affordable, safe and secure underground parking is available at the Newtown Junction.

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The Market Theatre is a Division of The Market Theatre Foundation, an agency of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.

 For reduced price block bookings (of 10 or more) and school groups, contact Anthony Ezeoke (Audience Development) at AnthonyE@markettheatre.co.za or 083 246 4950.

For media enquiries, contact Bongiwe Potelwa (Publicist at the Market Theatre Foundation) at bongiwep@markettheatre.co.za or (011) 832 1641.

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The Market Theatre Foundation Appoints New Chief Financial Officer

The Market Theatre Foundation Appoints New Chief Financial Officer

The Market Theatre Foundation (MTF) is excited to announce the appointment of Devi Padayachee CA (SA) as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective from 11 August 2025.

Selected from a competitive pool of candidates, Devi’s appointment signals MTF’s ability to attract the best talent in the market—illustrating our status as an employer of choice.

Devi is a high-performing chartered accountant with vast experience across diverse industries, including the public sector. Among others, she was the CFO and Acting CEO at Ekurhuleni Housing Company, successfully leading the municipal entity’s turnaround strategy, achieving clean audits, designing innovative ways for increasing revenue and cutting costs, while significantly reducing audit findings. Her excellent record at Ekurhuleni Housing Company distinguished her as an exceptional public servant with strong competencies in public financial management and a deep love for serving communities.

As an iconic cultural institution,  MTF is committed not only to bold storytelling, but also good governance guided by strong internal controls, financial sustainability, creative models for revenue generation. Devi’s background in public service will ensure that the organisation maintains its healthy financial status and meets its targets, while her experience in international financial reporting will be of great value to its internationalisation efforts.

The Market Theatre Foundation’s CEO, Tshiamo Mokgadi, congratulated and wished the new CFO well in her new position, saying: “I wish Devi a great time at MTF, filled with all the joys and challenges that come with the work we do. We’re excited that throughout Devi’s illustrious career, MTF marks her first role working in the cultural industry. Her dynamic career record – especially in the public sector – is exactly what we need as we approach our 50th anniversary at the forefront of telling authentic South African stories.”

The Market Theatre Foundation is an agency of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.

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UMNGQUNGQO ORCHESTRAL EXPERIENCE COMES TO JOHANNESBURG

UMNGQUNGQO ORCHESTRAL EXPERIENCE COMES TO JOHANNESBURG

UMNGQUNGQO ORCHESTRAL EXPERIENCE COMES TO JOHANNESBURG
A Majestic Fusion of African Storytelling, Jazz, and Orchestral Grandeur at The Market Theatre Johannesburg, South Africa

After two years of acclaimed performances across the Eastern Cape, the Umngqungqo Orchestral Experience arrives in Johannesburg for the very first time, bringing a symphonic celebration of African heritage to the iconic Market Theatre – a stage where South Africa’s music legends have performed, and where Dumza Maswana sang for the birthday celebration of President Thabo Mbeki and the Tribute to Victor Ntoni show exactly 10 years ago.

For Dumza, this performance is more than just a concert, it’s a homecoming. Having spent 16 years of his youth in Johannesburg before returning to the Eastern Cape, the city holds deep personal meaning. “Performing in Jozi is like coming home,” says Dumza. “It’s where my dreams grew, and where so many of my musical heroes inspired me.”

Umngqungqo, meaning “rhythmic dance” or “heartbeat” in isiXhosa, is a blend of isiXhosa indigenous music and jazz, drawn from Dumza’s two celebrated albums and his upcoming release. The Johannesburg performance will feature lush orchestral arrangements by conductor and trumpeter Sakhile Simani and musical director and pianist Mthokozisi Mabuza, transforming the music into a sweeping cinematic experience.

Following its 9th staging – a triumphant performance at this year’s National Arts Festival in Makhanda with a 60-piece ensemble including choir – the show now comes to The Market Theatre with a promise of grandeur, intimacy, and cultural pride.

Dumza shares:

“I believe my music transcends age boundaries. By blending indigenous sounds with jazz and other genres, I create a unique experience that is both amplified and timeless. As a musician, I’m not just selling music, I’m redefining cultural conversations, reliving memories both ancient and personal through storytelling, song, and literature. This resonates with people of all ages.”

Audiences attend Dumza Maswana’s shows not only for the music and storytelling but also to witness the beauty of how Africans dress up for cultural occasions. The Johannesburg staging will be no exception – a feast for the ears, eyes, and spirit.

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JOMBA!

JOMBA!

The Market Theatre in partnership with the Centre for Creative Arts presents the 3rd annual JOMBA! @ The Market, bringing together an evocative programme of contemporary dance works that speak to personal, political, and ancestral journeys across Africa and beyond.

Featuring four bold choreographic voices, this year’s festival created by Lliane Loots includes KANYAR epilogue, a haunting solo by Didier Boutiana (Reunion), which continues the introspective search for self and spirit in a shifting world. SboNdabaDance (Cape Town), under the direction of Legacy Artist Sbonakaliso Ndaba, presents In SEARCH OF OUR HUMANITY – a stirring work that interrogates South Africa’s historical and spiritual evolution through dance.

In a powerful double bill, Standard Bank Young Artist for 2025, Asanda Ruda, explores Afro-contemporary forms in KEMET – BLACK LANDS, a solo rooted in ancestral memory and self-emancipation, and ALKAMAL WALKAMAL ALMUTLAQ, a trio meditating on healing, spirit, and love. Rounding off the programme is Flatfoot Dance Company (Durban) with BODIES OF WATER, a lyrical reflection on climate justice and survival, drawing on the metaphor of water to explore personal and political embodiment.

 

Together, these works offer audiences an opportunity to experience movement, storytelling, and ritual at the intersection of identity, ecology, and resilience.

JOMBA! and the Market Theatre will also facilitate a series of free workshops with guest artists:

  1. Tuesday 9 September: 4 – 5.30pm with Didier Boutiana (Reunion)

Enjoy a workshop that draws on such disparate influences as hip-hop, yoga and contemporary dance as you find your own groove and self-expression in this workshop.

  1. Thursday 11 September: 4 – 5.30pm with Sbonakaliso Ndaba (Cape Town, South Africa)

This workshop offers participants a full body class experience in the technical dance training methods of Sbo Ndaba. It is a high impact class that pushes dancers to think with their bodies!

  1. Saturday 13 September: 10am – 11.30am with Asanda Ruda

This class is an open, free-flow contemporary dance session infused with elements of African cultural dance and hip hop. This unique blend creates a space for participants to explore grounded, expressive movement rooted in identity, rhythm, and improvisation. Dancers of all levels are encouraged to connect with their bodies and the collective energy of the space in a vibrant and liberating dance experience.

  1. Saturday 13 September: 4 – 5.30pm with Sifiso Khumalo and FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY

Enjoy a deeply grounding contemporary dance class in a growing exploration of what FLATFOOT calls its “African Release’. Sifiso Khumalo offers an embodied class that will challenge and delight. Look out for a special sharing of some of the repertoire of BODIES OF WATER, working with live musicians.

These workshops are offered free of charge to participants, but booking is essential as places are limited. The workshops are only open to dancers 16yrs and older.

E-mail 2024jomba@gmail.com to book a place – at least 1 days in advance of the workshop. No booking, no participation!

 

JOMBA! KANYAR Epilogue

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JOMBA! Asanda Ruda

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JOMBA! Bodies of Water

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JOMBA! In Search of Our Humanity

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Diary With My Friends

Music Meets Meaning at Sibah Musiq’s One Night Only Concert

Ekhaya Classic Records and The Art Cave, in association with The Market Theatre Kippies Fringe, present ‘Diary with My Friends’ by Afropop singer, Sibah Musiq. Happening on 30 August 2025 from 19:30, the show is a fresh, soulful live interpretation of Sibah Musiq’s debut album, ‘My Diary’.

This powerful, one-night-only musical and storytelling experience promises audiences intimate access to the rising artist, including personal stories that have shaped his creativity.

Sibah will be accompanied by special musical guests, delivering a moving musical experience that will leave audiences asking for more. More than a concert, this is an emotional journey; an invitation to feel, reflect and connect. With rich vocals, lyrical honesty and a soulful sound, Sibah brings his personal diary to life in a setting where music meets meaning.

The evening will be curated by The Art Cave, made up of Tebogo Malapane and Philangezwi Nxumalo. Their mission is to explore bold, experimental storytelling in live spaces. The duo say the night will be a celebration of love through sound, giving music lovers a special treat. This show, they add, speaks to their unconventional outlook towards theatre as a space for all forms of live entertainment.

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“We’re all about experimentation—we’ve always pushed boundaries. This is a beautiful challenge-an opportunity to explore what happens when music and theatre collide. With the Kippies Fringe platform, we believe this is just the beginning of something greater. This project reflects our passion for storytelling that doesn’t follow the norm. Exploring what happens when live music enters a theatre space is something we’re deeply interested in. We’re theatre kids who love music.”

 ENDS.

The Market Theatre is a Division of The Market Theatre Foundation, an agency of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.

 For media enquiries, please contact Bongiwe Potelwa (Publicist at The Market Theatre Foundation) at bongiwep@markettheatre.co.za or (011) 832 1641.

For reduced price block bookings of 10 or more and school groups, contact Anthony Ezeoke (Audience Development Specialist at The Market Theatre Foundation) at anthonye@markettheatre.co.za or 083 246 4950.

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The Hyena’s Tuckshop

The Hyena’s Tuckshop

Hilarious Children’s Play – ‘The Hyena’s Tuckshop’ – a Perfect Outing for Families

Jo’burg parents, gather your little ones around the fire for a sparkling storytelling experience, fuelled with colour, giggles and life-long lessons. The Market Theatre opens its Kippies Fringe programme curated by The Art Cave with a bang by presenting an award-winning children’s play, ‘The Hyena’s Tuckshop’. Playing from 26 – 29 June 2025 for a total of five performances only, young audiences are up for a whirlwind of humour, music, dance and a healthy dose of rebellion in the 50-seater venue alongside The Market Theatre.

The entertaining and empowering play with music is prompted by recent reports of children dying after consuming poisoned foods sold at tuckshops and schoolgrounds, leading to greater need for innovative children’s health and safety campaigns in townships. At the centre of it is a slick and cunning hyena who runs a dodgy tuckshop on a school playground. His prices are sky-high and his products not in good condition. Yet, he always gets away with it…or so he thinks, until a brave and intelligent rabbit calls him out. What follows is a hilarious and heart-pounding showdown between truth and trickery, wrapped in a world of rhythm and colour.

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Created and directed by Mongezi Ntukwana, ‘The Hyena’s Tuckshop’ won Best Script and Best Director at the National Children’s Theatre’s Young Directors Festival (2025). This wildly amusing tale introduces children to ideas of justice, accountability, and resistance, all while keeping them in stitches as cartoon-style characters are brought to life with energy, wit and soul. live music gets their cute little toes tapping and beautiful hearts thumping with excitement as they dance along to the Pantsula-inspired moves.

According to Ntukwana, ‘The Hyena’s Tuckshop’ is not just a show but a gift that ignites imagination, builds children’s confidence and facilitates unforgettable learning experiences.

“In a world where children often sense unfairness but don’t always know how to name it, this production nudges them to ask bold questions, trust their instincts, and speak truth to power. This is theatre that respects their intelligence, nurtures their courage, and reminds them that even in a world full of ‘hyenas,’ the rabbit still has a voice, and a sharp mind,” explains Ntukwana.

The Art Cave, curators of the Kippies Fringe, add that this play captures the Fringe’s objective of presenting theatre that holds power accountable and amplifies unheard voices on the fringes of society.

“Children learn best when they’re entertained. They hold on tight to what makes them laugh and sets their spirits free. In a digital age where kids spend so much time glued to screens, ‘The Hyena’s Tuckshop’ goes beyond ordinary storytelling, it magically unlocks social awareness and comprehension, empowering kids to speak up for themselves,” comments Philangezwi Nxumalo, co-founder of The Art Cave.

He concludes that by taking a highly sensitive crisis and grading it to children’s understanding, this show reaffirms the role of children’s theatre as a powerful method for playful, interactive teaching and learning.

‘The Hyena’s Tuckshop’ is presented by Aziye Productions in association with The Art Cave and The Market Theatre for the 2025 Kippies Fringe. Tickets for the show are available on Webtickets at just R100 for all ages. A special discount applies for groups/families of four and more, with those tickets at R80 each.

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 Kippies Fringe is an initiative of The Market Theatre, curated by The Art Cave.

 The Market Theatre is a Division of The Market Theatre Foundation, an agency of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.

 For media enquiries, please contact Bongiwe Potelwa (Publicist at The Market Theatre Foundation) at bongiwep@markettheatre.co.za or (011) 832 1641.

 For  school groups, contact Anthony Ezeoke (Audience Development Specialist at The Market Theatre Foundation) at anthonye@markettheatre.co.za or 083 246 4950.

The Market Theatre’s Kippies Fringe Programme Returns With Bold, Urgent Storytelling

The Market Theatre’s Kippies Fringe Programme Returns With Bold, Urgent Storytelling

The Market Theatre’s Kippies Fringe Programme Returns With Bold, Urgent Storytelling

Productions will start running from June through to December 2025, offering artistic vision that platforms storytelling and artistic expression that refuses to play it safe. Audiences will be treated to musical and theatrical performances, alongside the programming of cultural provocations with the power to shift the stage and spark change.

Thematically, the curation that The Art Cave offers will open a door to themes of youth resistance, musical legacy, queer pride, ancestral healing and personal reckoning. “These themes aren’t just relevant; they are urgent. We’re living in a time where theatre must do more than entertain—it must interrupt, heal, educate, and transform,” states Philangezwi Nxumalo

According to Tebogo Malapane, the shortlisting and final selection of shows followed a careful consideration of submissions across multiple performance genres, ensuring that the Kippies Fringe lives up to the vibrant multidisciplinary legacy of the space. The aim was to arrive at a bold, experimental, intimate and transformative programme that sits boldly in the 50-seater venue adjacent to The Market Theatre building.

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Malapane adds that curating the return of the Kippies Fringe is a surreal opportunity to prompt the future of storytelling. “As a creative deeply concerned with the evolution of theatre, I’m not here to replicate tradition. I’m here to stretch it, flip it, and reimagine it. Therefore, the Kippies Fringe is more than a stage, it’s a testing ground for the raw, the risky, and the radically new. It’s a platform where artists can be seen and heard before the world tells them who or how to be.”

For The Market Theatre Foundation, bringing back the Kippies Fringe is as much about creating opportunities for live-performance artists as it is about reactivating Kippies as a venue that has propelled many careers before. “Utilising Kippies as a fringe venue ensures professional support for up-and-coming performers and artists, while creating an alternative space to encounter new voices. Through this dual value proposition, The Market Theatre’s longstanding history as an iconic performance space lends itself to works that are still on the fringe, cultivating a fresh and dynamic layer of live-performance artists that could possibly feed into our main programming in the future,” says Artistic Director, Greg Homann.

Some of the performances lined up at Kippies include Jo’burg-based Mongezi Ntukwana’s award-winning satirical theatre piece, ‘The Hyena’s Tuckshop’, and Makhubalo Ikaneng’s ‘Halala Mr. Party’, through which the award-winning storyteller looks at how public joy is often used to mask deep pain.

Again, community-based storytelling will meet national visibility when KZN-based director and teacher, Masedi Manenye, travels to Jo’burg to present ‘Faces’, featuring a cast of University of Zululand alumni. The production emerges from the ‘Beyond the Curriculum’ initiative,  an innovative platform championing professional theatre grounded in rural realities.

Meanwhile, a rib-cracking comedy affair awaits, as  ‘The Jokeologist’ by Themba Nhlapo joins the Kippies Fringe. This show is a unique fusion of stand-up comedy, poetry, and live music, driven home with sharp wit, lyrical flow and soulful rhythms.

For more information and full line-up, visit www.markettheatre.co.za.

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The Market Theatre is a Division of The Market Theatre Foundation, an agency of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.

 For media enquiries, please contact Bongiwe Potelwa (Publicist at The Market Theatre Foundation) at bongiwep@markettheatre.co.za or (011) 832 1641.

 For reduced price block bookings of 10 or more and school groups, contact Anthony Ezeoke (Audience Development Specialist at The Market Theatre Foundation) at anthonye@markettheatre.co.za or 083 246 4950.

THE BLACK CIRCUS OF THE REPUBLIC OF BANTU

The Black Circus of The Republic of Bantu

Internationally Acclaimed Performance Piece Aims to Heal Black Bodies and Spirits

The Market Theatre presents eight performances of ‘The Black Circus of the Republic of Bantu’, an explosive and destabilising installation-based performance artwork that aims towards healing generations of trauma inflicted on Black bodies. The internationally-travelled piece is performed by NYC Bessie Award winner, Albert Ibokwe Khoza, in collaboration with award-winning director, Princess Zinzi Mhlongo.

Its strictly limited season over weekends at The Market Theatre will run from 13 – 29 June 2025. This after selling out venues and performing to critical acclaim in major cities such as Amsterdam, Liverpool, New York and Barcelona, among others. It has been hosted by progressive festivals and organisations, including the Liverpool Biennial and the U.S-based Boom Arts, to mention a few.

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Locally, the work has been seen briefly in Cape Town, Soweto and Johannesburg

‘The Black Circus of the Republic of Bantu’ is an artistic display of the violent and shocking legacy of ethnological expositions such as human zoos and exhibitions in Western societies, popularised by the human curiosities movement between the late 19th century to mid-20th century. Through this movement, Black people – most notably Sarah Baartman – were uprooted from their homelands, commercially exploited and intrusively paraded for the white fetish. At an urgent pace, Khoza offers a visceral experience that thrusts the audience into re-examining this history – a history often left unspoken – and boldly opens portals for us to reclaim, reflect, and confront ourselves as a people.

The haunting and, at times, shocking confrontation goes further to lament the reduction of Blackness into a performance. The text makes the claim that Black bodies are institutionalised crime scenes that must be redeemed and cleansed. Piercingly, Khoza investigates the effect of this imperial and colonial gaze on Black people and its modern day continuation, emphasising the need for spiritual healing and reclaiming violated dignities.

This installation-based performance evokes the exploitation of Black power across industries, contending that this country was built on the unbreakable backs of Black people doing the work, and a White messiah shamelessly profiting from it. According to Khoza, Black creatives are still chained like slaves who need a White master in the form of international curators and funding organisations to penetrate local and global markets.

“With this secular performance,” Khoza explains, “I am questioning the freedom of the performer and whether it’s still caged, if the stage is the modern day human zoo. In paying tribute to the victims of the horrific legacy of slavery, I look back at the likes of Sarah Baartman who were coerced into unpaid public exhibitions and confront my own exploitation as a performer. Am I that different from them even now?” 

Allow Khoza to lead you into an atmosphere of collective healing, feel the shackles that hold you back fall off, and break into a sense of spiritual connection.

Tickets for ‘The Black Circus of the Republic of Bantu’ are available on Webtickets, selling at R120 up until 12 June. Thereafter, all tickets are R150.

Age restriction is 16+, with scenes of full frontal nudity and disturbing references.

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The Market Theatre is a Division of The Market Theatre Foundation, an agency of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.

 For media enquiries, please contact Bongiwe Potelwa (Publicist at The Market Theatre Foundation) at bongiwep@markettheatre.co.za or (011) 832 1641.

 For reduced price block bookings of 10 or more and school groups, contact Anthony Ezeoke (Audience Development Specialist at The Market Theatre Foundation) at anthonye@markettheatre.co.za or 083 246 4950.

Hey Hillbrow! Come Out To Play—The Streets Are CallingThe Last Country

Hey Hillbrow! Come Out To Play—The Streets Are Calling

Hey Hillbrow! Come Out To Play—The Streets Are Calling

The Windybrow Arts Centre, a division of The Market Theatre Foundation, and its partners are proud to present the sixth iteration of its annual parade, Hey Hillbrow! Let’s Dlala!

Fun, joy and creative energies are set to fill the inner-city of Jo’burg this Africa Month as Hey Hillbrow!  splashes the neighbourhood with colourful visuals and alters the soundscape with exciting frequencies. The parade, which cuts through Hillbrow and Doornfontein, takes place on 24 May 2025. It starts at 10am from The Windybrow Arts Centre, followed by a music concert featuring Thamsanqa Vuthela Band, Mozambique’s The Dizzy Brains and Styles Da Deejay of The Creators Room.

Launched in 2017, Hey Hillbrow! is a  celebration of the possibilities that public performance brings to public space—to spread energy, laughter, surprise and provocation, and to make visible the wonderful work that several organisations and individuals have continued to do in impacting inner-city communities and spaces. It is once again curated by Tamzyn Botha, alongside Daniel Buckland and The Windybrow Arts Centre.

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Hey Hillbrow! is a collaboration between The Windybrow Arts Centre and likeminded local youth organisations: Dlala Nje, Shade, Dlamini Foundation, Johannesburg Society for the Blind, Innovation of Excellence, Lefika La Phodiso, Fight with Insight and MES. Again, the parade is proud to have favourites, the Ezase Vaal Brass Band, returning to one of Jo’burg’s most anticipated  playdates for an unforgettable performance. The brass band will sonically lead and weave the crowd through worlds upon the parade.

Another highlight for this iteration is The Cirk, a descending razzle joining the parade from the sky. African Reclaimers Organisation continues to supply art and costumes created from waste, as well as waste reclaimer bag forms. These green creations make up the visual language of the entire parade, paying homage to the peripheral purveyors themselves and encouraging environmentally healthy practices. 

According to Gerard Bester, Head of The Windybrow Arts Centre, Hey Hillbrow! Let’s Dlala! highlights the creative abilities of young people in the inner-city of Jo’burg, while pricking at the conscience of authorities to make the city a better place for all.

“The parade offers a moment of awe and wonderment for young people living in the sometimes tortured but culturally rich city of Johannesburg. It further celebrates the talents and creative vibrancy of young people, bringing joy and surprise to residents and visitors on the streets and balconies of Hillbrow. This year promises even more wonder and entanglement as we move through the streets as portals into the past, the future and the now,” Bester says.

The parade is more than just a mystical adventure. Beyond the thrill of the moment, it aims to spotlight the resilience, creativity, humanity and complexity of inner-city youth, while transforming the often high-risk area into a fun-filled playground. For once, their gaze at the weathered buildings around them sparkles with possibilities as they actively participate in reimagining the aesthetic of their neighbourhood.

Hey Hillbrow! Let’s Dlala! was inspired by the life of Jo’burg public art super-heroine, the late Lesley Perkes, who had dreams for the inner city place which others have continued to manifest. The organisers are therefore deeply grateful for the generous support from the following sponsors: Ekhaya CID, Badboys Security, Hillbrow Police, Assitej South Africa, CCBSA,  Joburg Photowalkers, the City of Johannesburg, Department of Sports, Arts and Culture, and our media partner Johannesburg in your Pocket.

 

                                                                                                                                                           ENDS.

 

The Market Theatre Foundation is an agency of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.

 For media enquiries, please contact Bongiwe Potelwa (Publicist at the Market Theatre Foundation) at bongiwep@markettheatre.co.za or (011) 832 1641.

 

Tutu Puoane: Wrapped In Rhythm at the Market Theatre

Tutu Puoane: Wrapped In Rhythm at the Market Theatre

Tutu Puoane: Wrapped In Rhythm at the Market Theatre 

With the blessing of acclaimed poet Lebogang Mashile, celebrated jazz vocalist and composer Tutu Puoane brought a fresh musical dimension to Mashile’s debut anthology, “In A Ribbon of Rhythm”. Carefully selecting a series of evocative poems, Puoane wove them into a rich, original repertoire, blending her signature fusion of African jazz, soul, and singer-songwriter influences.

The result is a deeply personal and emotionally resonant musical journey that breathes new life into Mashile’s words, transforming them into melodies that pulse with rhythm and meaning. Puoane’s interpretations honour the spirit of the original poetry, while infusing it with her unique artistry, creating a vibrant and soul-stirring experience. This project stands as a testament to the power of collaboration between poetry and music, offering audiences an immersive celebration of storytelling in sound.

 

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