The formidable cast features rising star Ketsia Velaphi as K-C, alongside Julie-Anne McDowell and Lungi Pinda. The cast is completed by guest Irish actress and playwright, Morna Regan, who brings a rich layer of authenticity and cultural significance to the production.
The Graduation of K-C premieres at the Market Theatre as the country wrestles with heightened divisions and polarising voices around migration. At the heart of the play is the sentiment that ‘we do not belong to countries and maps…we only belong temporarily wherever we are!’
The play’s co-director, Campbell Meas, positions the work as a story about family histories converging through a milestone moment: The Graduation of K-C. Meas adds that for K-C, this moment is more meaningful than just a ceremonial academic capping—it’s potentially about using her voice to say something to her family, the student body, the university and the nation.
As she tries to make sense of her place in this big moment, her personal search for meaning intersects with the student politics of the time, inspired by the courage of the Fees Must Fall and Rhodes Must Fall movements ten years before she enrolled for her university degree.
Meas remarks, “K-C is at this precipice of what kind of young woman she is choosing to be, and she’s got a lot of adult figures in her life who have tried their best but who are, in K-C’s mind, offering conflicting guidance. And so, we’re met with all of these narratives and different versions of truth, and whose truth matters more, and whether that even matters.”
The Graduation of K-C will be staged as part of the SA/Irish Season, held at The Market Theatre across November and into December in partnership with the Embassy of Ireland in South Africa, bringing together a conversation around the troubled shared histories of both countries.
The SA/Irish Season culminates in a 5-day festival at the end of November with theatre, talks, exhibitions and screenings focusing on the stories that thematically and politically link Ireland and South Africa through their struggles for liberation, cultural influences and international solidarity.
For The Market Theatre, The Graduation of K-C – and the curation of the SA/Irish Season – is an artistic way of acknowledging this throughline.
“The script, more than being a modern family’s story, is a theatrical furtherance of this vital interconnectedness that has shaped the two nations across many decades of darkness and hope. As an institution, we’re delighted to have partnered with the Irish Embassy, and to have a guest Irish actress with us to sharpen the authenticity of the storytelling. At a time when the world seems increasingly divided, The Market Theatre remains a proud mouthpiece for the South African story and that story is shared across the world,” comments Greg Homann, Artistic Director at The Market Theatre Foundation.
Follow K-C’s story as she graduates into her own version of truth in this poignant, sharp and relevant family drama.
Tickets for The Graduation of K-C are available on Webtickets with special discounts for the preview performance, for groups of four or more, and with all Wednesdays at half-price.
Safe and affordable underground parking available at Newtown Junction.
ENDS
The Market Theatre is a Division of The Market Theatre Foundation, an agency of the Department of Sport, 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 and school groups, contact Anthony Ezeoke (Audience Development Specialist) at AnthonyE@markettheatre.co.za or 083 246 4950.
