MTF CONVENES THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES TO REMEMBERTHE ICONIC MNCEDISI SHABANGU

THE MARKET THEATRE CONVENES THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES TO REMEMBER
THE ICONIC MNCEDISI SHABANGU IN A MEMORIAL SERVICE

The creative industries of South Africa suffered an incalculable loss with the passing of the

iconic Actor, Director and Writer, Mncedisi Shabangu on the 24 July 2022. Many creatives

descended on Ka-Nyamazane to say final farewell to a peer and mentor, as he was laid to

rest over the past weekend.

The Market Theatre Foundation will be hosting a memorial service for the late Mncedisi

Shabangu on:

Date:  Wednesday, 03 August 2022

Venue: The John Kani Theatre

Time:  12h00 (midday) until 15h00

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This ceremony is inspired by the significance of Shabangu’s relationship with number of prestigious cultural institutions globally but there is no institution that occupies a more profound space in the genesis and evolution of Shabangu’s professional theatre career than the Market Theatre.

“As the Market Theatre Foundation we are shocked and saddened by Mncedis’s sudden passing. He was a part of our history – from being an alumnus of the Laboratory, performing in a number of productions staged at the Market Theatre and ultimately giving back through directing and mentoring others. A true ambassador of the arts.

We send our deepest condolences to his family and friends and wish them comfort in the midst of the pain” said Tshiamo Mokgadi the CEO of the Market Theatre Foundation.

The media and all artists, producers and other professionals in the Creative Industries are

invited to join us in celebrating the life of Mncedisi Shabangu through this memorial service.

For more information please contact:

Desmond Mathebula

Media and Publicity – Market Theatre

Email: desmond@markettheatre.co.za 

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Opportunity for emerging theatre-makers at the Market Theatre Laboratory!

Opportunity For Emerging Theatre-Makers at the Market Theatre Laboratory!

Applications for the Market Theatre Laboratory’s renowned Theatre and Performance full-time course open from 1 August – 30 September 2022, for study in 2023. We are looking for talented, determined young people who are passionate about the performing arts to become part of the next generation of artistic innovators, change-makers and storytellers.

The Market Lab is a multi-award-winning arts incubator, with a reputation for facilitating the development of exceptional young theatre-makers, facilitators, actors, writers and directors, and for creating innovative and relevant new plays

Our students have the opportunity to work and learn with some of the country’s most iconic theatre practitioners, while creating a diverse range of work both individually and within an ensemble.

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With multiple local, African and global partners, the Lab strives to create enriching experiences that contribute to the personal and artistic growth of each person who participates in our programmes. Alumni have gone on to excel on stage and screen, from established stalwarts such as Warren Masemola, to relative newcomers such as Mathews Rantsoma, who has just been nominated for the SAFTA award for Best Actor in a TV Soap. Others have chosen to apply their skills in several other industries, including publishing, radio, event management and marketing. Many are playing leadership roles in arts institutions and other contexts, and remain committed to working in the communities that nurtured their growth as young artists.  

The Market Lab’s full-time theatre and performance course, which runs from January to November each year, offers intensive training in a laboratory environment for emerging theatre practitioners to develop to a professional standard. The programme focuses on practical experience, and learning through experimentation, exchange, research and making. Each year, twenty first years are selected, a small group that allows for each students’ creative journey to be mentored. The Lab invests in ensuring that the curriculum continues to serves the interests and needs of young creatives in a rapidly evolving industry. Most importantly, we teach young artists to adapt, to experiment, and to think of themselves as entrepreneurs. In these challenging times, we aim to think expansively about the relevance of theatre and live performance, and to find language that articulates what theatre-makers know how to do and where the current need for these skills is situated. The ways in which theatre-making skills help make sense of being human, teach us how to be with people, how to hold space, how to participate in community, how to approach change, and how to solve problems creatively, are needed now more than ever.

The high quality of artistic engagement between students, collaborators, audiences and theatre practitioners happening in the space is evident in the impressive array of awards that the productions created through or with the Market Theatre Laboratory have won – this year, the Market Lab was the only institution nominated in the Naledi Award category for Best Tertiary or Incubator production, winning for Peeling Shadows.

When the Market Theatre Laboratory opened its doors in 1989, the intention of its founders, Dr John Kani and Barney Simon, was to provide opportunities to talented youth from disadvantaged backgrounds who would not otherwise be able to pursue their passion for the arts or study further. This remains an integral part of the Lab’s purpose, along with a determination to assist young artists to build sustainable careers, and to create space and visibility for subaltern experiences, voices and identities.

Applicants are encouraged to  Apply Here 

 Alternatively application forms can be fetched from the Market Theatre Laboratory offices:

For Queries contact:           

courses@marketlab.co.za 

Whatsapp: 063 361 1211

 011 838 7498

Twitter: @Themarketlab

Instagram: Market laboratory

Facebook:  The Market Theatre Laboratory

You Tube: Market Theatre Laboratory Official

For further information, interviews and images, contact:

Lusanda Zokufa 072 367 7867 or lusandaz@markettheatre.co.za and Desmond Mathebula 062 329 4741 or desmondm@markettheatre.co.za

 

KwaSha Theatre Company Tours The Kids of Amandla Street to Schools In August

KwaSha Theatre Company Tours The Kids of Amandla Street to Schools In August

KwaSha Theatre Company is delighted to present a new production for young audiences, The Kids of Amandla Street, which will tour to primary schools from 18 August – 3 September. The play, written by Lereko Mfono, explores themes of friendship, xenophobia, and identity. It invites the audience into the world of Obi, Jimmy, Palesa and Lillian, four youth living in Amandla Street in inner city Johannesburg, navigating their way through an environment that offers comfort and joy, but also quickly becomes a place full of prejudice, racism and fear. Within the complexity of the street they think of as home, the kids who live there seek to lead whole-hearted lives and dream big dreams. They are put in a situation where they must come up with their own solutions and decide on their personal values and actions, even when these are at odds with the authority figures in their lives.

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The Kids of Amandla Street was originally developed through ASSITEJ SA’s African Youth Theatre and Dance Festival programme, in association with New Visions New Voices at the John F. Kennedy Centre, the University of Maryland, Artscape Theatre and Soweto Theatre. The subject matter resonates with the experiences of young people living in present day South Africa, and there will be a post-performance discussion aligned with the Life Orientation curriculum, to engage the audience in a conversation about who they are and how they see others. On this fresh staging, playwright Lereko says, “I am so moved to hear the talented KwaSha team will be staging the work especially in this current climate we’re in. I started developing the play in 2015 when there were xenophobic attacks that broke out in Durban and parts of Johannesburg, and in many ways it’s so disheartening to see that some 7 years later we are still dealing with the same issue in this country. My hope is that the play will resonate with young audiences in such a way that they would be convinced to break the cycle of hatred wherever they are”.

The play is brought to life by a talented team of young theatre-makers, led by up and coming director, performer and facilitator, Sibahle Mangena, a past member of KwaSha and current facilitator of the Windybrow Arts Centre after school arts programme. Sibahle co-created and performed in the Naledi-nominated productions Text Me When You Arrive and Currently Gold, and has worked on various programmes at the Centre for the Less Good Idea. However, this is her first professional play as a director. She will be joined by young designer, Megan Miller, a recent graduate from Wits University who has assisted with productions at the National Children’s Theatre, and who has a whimsical and innovative approach to theatre design. This young and exciting creative team will be mentored and supported by the incredibly experienced theatre-maker Gina Shmukler, who worked with similar themes in her acclaimed production, The Line. During the process the team will also be engaging with tweens in the inner-city who participate in the Windybrow’s arts programmes, to ensure that the subject matter, characters, and story are compelling, relevant and resonant for the play’s target audience.

Now in its fifth year, KwaSha, a theatre company run collaboratively by Windybrow Arts Centre and the Market Theatre Laboratory, are coming to this production fresh from a tour to Makhanda where they presented Franz Fanon’s The Drowning Eye on the curated programme. This diversity of programming reflects the extraordinary range of experiences that KwaSha members are able to participate in during their year in the company, to give them work experience which helps launch their professional careers. This is the second play by Lereko Mfono staged by KwaSha, who also presented the wonderful Little Fists; Big Heart last year. Lereko has written extensively for young audiences, and is passionate about inspiring young Africans to dream confidently and expansively.

For further information or to request a performance of The Kids of Amandla Street at your school, please contact Zintle at zintler@markettheatre.co.za or call 082 880 8691.

Author: Lereko Mfono

Director: Sibahle Mangena

Mentor: Gina Shmukler

Set and Costume Designer: Megan Miller

Production Manager & Producer: Rudy Motseatsea

Performed by KwaSha The 5th

 

Schools Tour: 18 August – 3 September

Age Range: 10 – 12 years, Grades 4 – 6

Duration: 50 minutes

For further information, interviews and images, contact:

Lusanda Zokufa 072 367 7867 or lusandaz@markettheatre.co.za and Desmond Mathebula 062 329 4741 or desmondm@markettheatre.co.za

MTF appointment of Zingisa Jemsana as the first Chief Operations Officer

Women are a force to be reckoned with at the Market Theatre Foundation with the appointment of Zingisa Jemsana as the first Chief Operations Officer

The Market Theatre Foundation is pleased to announce that after a ten month search for the right candidate to fill the position, Zingisa Jemsana was the successful candidate for the job!

Zingisa Jemsana joins a top tier and all black senior management under the under the leadership of Tshiamo Mokgadi, Chief Executive Officer and Mlungisi Mkhayiphe, Chief Financial Officer.

The Chief Operations Officer will provide direction and will be responsible for the managing of the daily operations with regards to the delivery of the organisations mandate, in accordance with the Strategic plan and Annual Performance Plan for the foundation and its various departments.

“Zingisa comes with valuable experience in community-based programme management with specific emphasis on managing facilities. She is an accomplished leader with over fifteen years’ experience in both public and private sector. She is an MBA Candidate at Wits Business School; and holds qualifications in Psychology. Her work in government was in departments of Sport; Arts; Culture and Recreation for provincial and local government and she has great understanding of legislation and policies relating to these sectors. Appointing the first COO for the organisation was part of our commitment to strengthening our leadership teams at the Market Theatre Foundation” said Tshiamo Mokgadi – CEO of MTF.

“I join the MTF at a time where the industry was re-opening after the restriction that came with the Covid-19 pandemic, so there is a huge responsibility on our part in reshaping how we drive audiences back to the theatre, but also providing access and creating opportunities for professionals in the arts, through training and creating work opportunities. I look forward to being part of the team that’s responsible for reimaging how we grow our business for the benefit of future generations” said an excited Zingisa Jemsana

The Market Theatre Foundation is also on an extensive hunt to fill the Artistic Director position in the next few months – watch the space for exciting new developments.

For further information, interviews and images, contact:

Lusanda Zokufa 072 367 7867 or lusandaz@markettheatre.co.za and Desmond Mathebula 062 329 4741 or desmondm@markettheatre.co.za

Ruined

Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize Award Winning Play “Ruined” makes its debut at the Market Theatre.

The second superb installation of the Women’s Month Celebration Production is the Pulitzer Prize winning play titled; “Ruined” by Lynn Nottage will make its long awaited South African premier at the iconic Market Theatre from 9 August – 4 September 2022 directed by Clive Mathibe.

The phenomenal and award winning ensemble includes film leading ladies and gents, Hlengiwe Lushaba Madlala, Shoki Mmola (2022 SAFTA Best Actress in TV Soap Skeem Saam), Fulu Mugovhani, and Sami Maseko, Molefe Monaisa, Edward Nkumishe, Thapelo Sebogodi (Best known as Kabzela in The River), Anele Situlweni and Vaughn Lucas (Who starred in Legacy). The formidable musical force, Banda Banda, joins the design team as musical director and composer- making his very first debut in theatre!

Lynn Nottage’s Ruined is set in a small mining town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it follows a life of the tenacious Mama Nadi, a businesswoman who is trying to stay afloat in a world torn apart by civil war. The war has ravaged her country, and especially the young girls who have literally been torn to pieces by soldiers on both sides of the conflict.

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Mama Nadi takes “damaged” girls into her brothel/bar and profits from them, but also protects them from the brutality of the world outside her doors. As  such, the women do a fragile dance between hope and disillusionment in an attempt to navigate life on the edge of an unforgiving conflict.

We also meet soldiers and commanders on both sides of the conflict, all frequent customers at Mama’s bar. Ruined was developed during playwright Lynn Nottage’s pilgrimage to Africa, where she interviewed girls and women who themselves were, and continue to be, the battleground upon which war is fought.

Nottage is a multi-award winning American author born in Brooklyn, New York. At age 8, she had already written her first play. Nottage is a graduate of New York’s High School of Music and Art in Harlem. She enrolled at Brown University where she received her B.A degree. She continued her studies and received her M.F.A degree in playwright at Yale School of Drama. Lynn’s plays are being produced worldwide.

Ruined is directed by Clive Mathibe who is a formidable theatre and television writer/director and creative producer. In 2021, Mathibe adapted and directed literary giant, Espkia Mphahlele’s ‘Father Come Home’ at the Market Theatre as part of the centinary celebrations to honor Mphahlele. The production enjoyed rave reviews as well as packed houses re-affirming Mathibe’ s distinctive and necessary creative voice. Mathibe says this about returning to The Market to direct Ruined; “I am thrilled and honored to be telling this story with some notable collaborators in the design team as well as the impeccable cast!”

Ruined offers a graphic portrait of women as lasting victims of war but also shines the light on the self-resilience women of the Congo have after the multiple sufferings inflicted on them. Without minimizing the pain, the production becomes a tribute to women’s endurance.

Ruined is a brilliant play that jolts our consciences about a forgotten conflict. Audiences will emerge both shaken and stirred!

This gut-wrenching production was made possible by the generous support from Eyesizwe Mining Development Trust.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION CREATIVE TEAM

Writer:                                                                         Lynn Nottage  

Director:                                                                     Clive Mathibe    

Music Director & Sound Designer:             Banda Banda

Lighting Designer:                                                 Hlomohang Mothetho

Set & Props Designer:                                         Karabo Legoabe

Costume Designer:                                               Motshidisi Manyaneng

Stage Manager:                                                       Lebeisa Molapo

Stage Manager Intern:                                        Irvin Taylor

Cast:

Anele Situlweni

Vaugh Lucas Callaway  

Edward Nkhumishe

Fulu Mugovhani

Hlengiwe Lushaba Madlala

Molefi Monaisa

Sami Maseko

Shoki Mmola

Thapelo Sebogodi

Season:                                               Tuesday 9 August – Sunday 4 September 2022

Venue:                                                 The John Kani Theatre    

Performance times:                     Tuesday – Saturday @19h00 and Sunday @15h00

Ticket prices:                                    Tuesday – Thursday R90

Friday – Saturday R150

Sunday – R130

To make block bookings and discounts please contact Anthony Ezeoke 011 832 1641ext 203/ 083 246 4950 or Bandile Luvalo 078 4344 860

For further information, interviews and images, contact:

Lusanda Zokufa 072 367 7867 or lusandaz@markettheatre.co.za and Desmond Mathebula 062 329 4741 or desmondm@markettheatre.co.za

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Whistleblowers

Whistleblowers SILVER
WB set up close-up
WB set up

Whistleblowers at Ramolao Makhene Theatre for Two Performances

Continuing its recent successful run at National Arts Festival (NAF), where it won a Standard Bank Silver Ovation Award and was the talk of the town, Whistleblowers, directed by Rob Murray and Quintijn Relouw, will have two performances at the Ramolao Makhene Theatre on Saturday 23 July at 19.00 and Sunday 24 July at 15.00.

Whistleblowers tackles the themes of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and sexual assault through the lens of a high school girls’ hockey match. It is the final game of the season, and the championship title is on the line. But the stakes are much higher than that, as the play reveals back-stories and situations that the young women have been experiencing. As the lines between the game and social commentary start blurring, and the team finds a collective voice of anger and frustration at the plight of women in this country, the team needs to make a vital choice: attack or defend.

Shifting between physical and visual performance, searing storytelling, and surrealist dream sequences, Whistleblowers is an honest and tragicomic call to action. A war cry for the soul.

It has been created and performed by Reabetswe Gaentswe, Boitshepo Maile, Kgaogelo Makgoba, Modipadi Mokgohloa, and Phindiwe Qakoshe, with a special appearance by Quintijn Relouw.

Whistleblowers premiered at the AFDA JHB Experimental Festival, where it had an immediate impact. This was carried through to its NAF run, which saw weeping audiences, standing ovations, and the production hailed as one of the most talked-about shows at the festival.

Steve Kretzmann, veteran journalist and arts critic, and this year’s editor in chief of The Cue, writes: “So many women killed, raped, mutilated, left for dead. We know their names, some of them, most we don’t, or forget. They are all here, legions of our guilt and our ghosts, all murdered by men. These five performers bring them to raging life, with the desire for vengeance only the living can give to the dead. They are in your face, blood pumping through their veins. The energy is at cup fever pitch. This is a game that has to be won…None of this is played out directly, yet the message seeps through, becoming louder and clearer as the often dreamlike sequences layer upon each other. It is a solid team, well directed with touches of physical comedy reining in the didactic, with imaginative use of set and wonderful touches of mask work…Whistleblowers is a winning work.” (see the full review here)

The performances at the Ramolao Makhene Theatre see the first push of the show before its Gauteng and KZN festivals and schools’ tour for this year and next. It is a show that should be seen by every high school learner – male or female.

Tickets range from R90 with special prices for schools, students, and block bookings, and can be booked here: https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/Event.aspx?itemid=1516983492

For more information, please contact Rob at rob@afda.co.za

Whistleblowers  is presented by AFDA JHB and Verity Productions.

Market Theatre celebrates Women’s Month

Market Theatre celebrates Women’s Month with remarkable productions

The Market Theatre has curated an undoubtably intriguing season of productions to celebrate Women’s Month with I Am A Woman and Ruined.

Every year in August, our country marks Women’s Month, where we pay tribute to the more than 20 000 women who marched to the Union Buildings on 9 August 1956 in protest against the extension of Pass Laws to women. Women’s Month allows us as society to gauge how far we have come in transforming society, particularly the unequal power relations between women and men.

Nqobile Sipamla, Mzansi’s favorite actress returns to the Market Theatre to give a performance of a lifetime in I Am A Woman which premiers Tuesday 19 July to Sunday 14 August 2022.

Sipamla dazzles as Mmabatho in I Am A Woman, a brand new one woman play by novelist Nthikeng Mohlele, set in contemporary and cosmopolitan Gauteng. The piece is anchored around the grand themes of love and belonging, female identity and feminist sentiments, about the place of women in a modern South Africa, about tragedy and loss, and about the interplay between personal and societal tensions.

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The central premise of the play is an existential examination of the hearts of humans; what it means to love, to have a meaningful life and, how fate and chance can either enrich or derail personal dreams and agency. Emotive, philosophical, humorous and often deadpan; the piece is a mosaic of performance flowers waiting to bloom

Palesa Mazamisa who is widely considered as one of the finest directors working today, celebrated by her peers for having a perceptive eye in creating captivating characters. Mazamisa is an award-winning playwright, author, and director. Her play Shoes & Coups received 7 nominations including Best New South African Script, Best Director & Best Production, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor from the prestigious national Naledi Theatre Awards. The play went on to win the Best New South African Script and the Best Supporting Actor awards.

Novelist, playwright, entrepreneur and brand marketing and communications professional, Nthikeng Mohlele, authored six critically acclaimed novels and two short story collections. He dabbles in journalistic writing and literary criticism and, is the winner of the University of Johannesburg Main Prize for South African Writing In English for Pleasure, the K Sello Duiker Memorial Prize and was also long listed for the Dublin International Prize.

Sipamla, an all-round Performer, Facilitator and Director of SirenzQ (Pty) Ltd. Nqobile’s debut was in the multi – award winning play The Suitcase in 2006 which earned her the Naledi Theatre Award for Best New Comer/Breakthrough 2006. She was also recently nominated at the South African Film & Television Awards ( Safta) for her lead role as Thuli on the sitcom Abomzala. Sipamla will give audiences transformative experience when you morph along with her on stage.

The second superb installation of the Women’s Month Celebration is the Tony Award Winning production Ruined by Lynn Nottage from 5 August – 4 September 2022 which will have its South Africa premier under the directorship of Clive Mathibe. The  phenomenal ensemble includes film leading ladies and gents, Hlengiwe Lushaba Madlala, Shoki Mmola, Fulu Mugovhani, and Samu Maseko, Molefe Monaise, Edward Nkumishe, Thapelo Sebogodi, Anele Situlweni and Vaughn Lucas.

Ruined involves the plight of a group of women in the civil war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. Set in Mama Nadi’s bar – a haven for miners, government soldiers and rebel militia, where they come to forget the ruins of war, to drink and dance with women and feed their desires. The play centres on the lives of the women working in the bar and their resolve to survive despite the atrocities they have experienced

Catch these unmissable and thought provoking productions at the Market Theatre buy your tickets now!

I Am A Woman and Ruined are made possible by the generous support from the by Eyesizwe Mining Development Trust.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION CREATIVE TEAM

Author:                                       Nthikeng Mohlele

Director:                                     Palesa Mazamisa   

Lighting Designer:                 Simon King

Set & Props Designer:          Karabo Mtshali        

Sound Designer:                     Vangile Mpumlwana

AV Designer:                              Luzuko Ntshidi          

Costume Designer:                Nthabiseng Makone

Stage Manager:                        Lutendo Cynthia Mudau    

Cast:

Nqobile Sipamla as Mmabatho

Season:                  Tuesday 19 July – 14 August 2022

Venue:                     Mannie Manim Theatre   

Performance times:       Tuesday – Saturday @19h00 and Sunday @15h00

Ticket prices:       Tuesday – Thursday R90

Friday – Saturday R150

Sunday – R130

To make block bookings and discounts please contact Anthony Ezeoke 011 832 1641ext 203/ 083 246 4950 or Bandile Luvalo 078 4344 860

For further information, interviews and images, contact:

Lusanda Zokufa 072 367 7867 or lusandaz@markettheatre.co.za and Desmond Mathebula 062 329 4741 or desmondm@markettheatre.co.z

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Hamilton

To celebrate Juneteenth the U S Consulate General in Johannesburg is offering a free screening of the Broadway hit musical – Hamilton

The show is at 6.30 pm tomorrow night, Wednesday, 8 June, in the Ramalao Makhene Theatre.

HAMILTON is the story of America then, told by America now. Featuring a score that blends hip-hop, jazz, R&B and Broadway, HAMILTON has taken the story of American founding father Alexander Hamilton and created a revolutionary moment in theatre—a musical that has had a profound impact on culture, politics, and education.

With book, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, direction by Thomas Kail, choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler, and musical supervision and orchestrations by Alex Lacamoire, HAMILTON is based on Ron Chernow’s acclaimed biography. It has won Tony®, Grammy®, and Olivier Awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and an unprecedented special citation from the Kennedy Center Honors.

Credit: https://disneyplusoriginals.disney.com/movie/hamilton

Date: Wednesday 8 June

Time: 18:30

Click Here to RSVP

Young people making a difference in the world of the Arts!

2nd Year Drama Students perform in KAK
The Drowning Eye photographer Brett Rubin

Young people making a difference in the world of the Arts!

The Market Theatre Foundation keeps it young and fresh this youth month! The next generation of young movers and shakers in the arts will take over this year’s Youth Month Celebration at the Market Theatre Foundation.

The Foundation encourages young people to cherish intuition, uncertainity and creativity to constantly search for new ideas that aim to break the rules and find unorthodox ways of approaching contemporary art.

For this year’s youth month commemoration and celebration of the Theatre’s 46th Birthday we have created a potpourri of diverse offering in presenting two theatre productions, a schools outreach programme, monologues and participation in an Internation Youth Congress. Art is a strong way for young people to engage with the world and bring about change.

The Market Theatre Laboratory is excited to announce its participation in an International Youth Congress that brings together over 70 young people from Germany, Brazil and South Africa to discuss and explore urgent matters of globalisation. After an online exchange that began in February this year, several Lab students are traveling to Germany and Brazil, and we have the pleasure of welcoming 14 young people from those countries to Johannesburg. They will be working with Lab students under the guidance of expert facilitator and dramaturg, Billy Langa, to make a new work which they will present at the Ramolao Makhene Theatre on 7 June at 8pm. The works created in Dusseldorf and Sãu Paulo will be live streamed as a part of this unique presentation. Tickets are free and available on webtickets.

The Ditshomo Schools Outreach Programme will involve the Market Theatre interacting with Grade 11 & 12 learners from selected schools in greater Johannesburg area to educate them about the social relevance of the performing arts as they contribute to social cohesion and at the same time introduce them to the different career opportunities that the performing arts can offer. The students are guided gently into the limitless opportunities in the Entertainment Industry. They will have one on one opportunities to work with industry experts in directing, scriptwriting and design this will help them learn, develop and grow.

Celebrating this years big 46th Market Theatre birthdays James Ngcobo and Luthando Mngomezulu will be presenting Litambwa – stories of our times Vignettes of story told through the lens of our young on Sunday 19 June 2022. Litambwa , a celebration of stories from our streets, stories that unpack the diverse characters that walk the length and breadth of this country. Stories penned by the next generation of wordsmiths. Celebrating Youth Month and the  Market Theatre birthday with a collage of stories told by playwrights who are writing their first work for the Market Theatre spaces.

The Market Theatre Laboratory and KwaSha Theatre Company are both presenting work at the live National Arts Festival this year between 23 June and 3 July. KwaSha, a collaborative project of the Market Theatre Laboratory and Windybrow Arts Centre, perform in Fanon’s The Drowning Eye directed by Tamara Guhrs. With dramaturgy by Stacy Hardy, and in academic collaboration with the University of Chicago, this work is presented at a time when Fanon’s writing has a new relevance for a generation of young South Africans questioning the limits and possibilities of revolution today. This production is supported by the French Institute of South Africa and Mazars.

Also at the National Arts Festival, the Lab second year students present KAK!, a contemporary interpretation and celebration of the work of iconic playwright, poet and human rights activist, Maishe Maponya, who passed away in September 2021. KAK! is a hard-hitting satirical play, drawing from Maishe Maponya’s last work which is an anthology of poems – Truth be told: Da’s Kak in die Land . The play is devised by award-winning writer and director Josias Dos Moleele in collaboration with the cast and award-winning choreographer Mdu Nhlapo. This daring piece  addresses uncomfortable topics such as corruption, poor service delivery, gender inequality, racism and more.

The display of young people at the Foundation demonstrates the intention of foundation giving young people a platform to expression and shaping a narrative that will make a difference in the future.

For further information, interviews and images, contact:

Lusanda Zokufa 072 367 7867 or lusandaz@markettheatre.co.za and Desmond Mathebula 062 329 4741 or desmondm@markettheatre.co.za

Screen-writing

Screen-writing

This year, the Market Theatre Laboratory and TsaMmu offers a NEW part-time Screenwriting Course. This course sets out to help aspiring writers better understand key concepts necessary to developing story for Screen. Along with learning core screenwriting skills, participants will also get the opportunity to write their own short film. This will be done with help from our industry-expert course facilitator, Omphile Molusi.

Register Here