what's on
current Event
Gabo Legwala
17 Sept- 12 Oct 2025
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.
upcoming Event
Fatherhood
9-19 October 2025
The Market Theatre is pleased to present ‘Fatherhood’, a production that won the 31st iteration of one of the most significant and longest running community theatre festivals, the Zwakala Festival. Originally created through The Alex Theatre Company and Academy, the play will have a run from 9 – 19 October 2025 in the Barney Simon Theatre, a performance space named after the visionary behind Zwakala.
‘Fatherhood’ features a young cast that poignantly bares the crisis of absent fathers for our collective reckoning.It is written by Mike Dzova and directed by Archie Oupa Matsetela, under the mentorship of award-winning playwright and director, Ntshieng Mokgoro. The script presents a fresh take at this complex societal issue, calling for a moment of reflection on the kind of world we’re creating for younger generations.
current Event
The Market Theatre’s Kippies Fringe Programme Returns With Bold, Urgent Storytelling
26 Jun - 6 Dec 2025
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
upcoming Event
UMNGQUNGQO ORCHESTRAL EXPERIENCE COMES TO JOHANNESBURG
18 October 2025
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
upcoming Event
JOURNEY OF DISCOVERY music concert
25 October 2025
The National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC), in collaboration with the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (HKADC), is excited to present the second instalment of Journey of Discovery, a much-anticipated concert taking place at the renowned Market Theatre in Johannesburg on 24 and 25 October 2025.
This groundbreaking cultural exchange was launched following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the NAC and HKADC on 2 February 2024. It gained momentum at the inaugural Hong Kong Performing Arts Expo (HKPAX) held from 14–18 October 2024, where South African and Hong Kong- based musicians captivated audiences with a unique co-created musical showcase.
upcoming Event
SWAN LAKE
24-26 October 2025
A queer reimagining of swan lake where four male dancers embody the seasons. through movement, light, and tutus, the piece celebrates queer resilience, beauty, and transformation. rejecting the original tragedy, the swans rise in hope—living as symbols of freedom and self-affirmation. a bold retelling of a classic ballet centered on queer stories and becoming.
This bold reimagining of Swan Lake features five male dancers embodying the seasons—winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Through a queer lens, the piece centers Black queer bodies in tutus, celebrating transformation, vulnerability, and resilience. Rejecting tragedy, this version ends in joy: the swans live, rising as symbols of freedom. A powerful reclaiming of a ballet classic, it shifts the narrative from sorrow to hope, queerness, and becoming.
Choreographed by Kwanele "Finch" Thusi with cast from Moving Into Damce
upcoming Event
THIS IS WHO I AM
23-27 October 2025
South African premiere
This Is Who I Am is a theatrical journey into Hillbrow and beyond, a place where history and present collide with contradictory illusions and dreams of a mercurial South Africa. A storied, yet troubled inner-city area of Johannesburg, Hillbrow remains a safe harbour for an ever-changing mix of iconoclasts.
Imbued with all the power and the passion of deeply personal real-life stories, ten Hillbrow artists and participants express the truth of their lived experience in their own five-hundred-word monologue in response to the title. Lives of abuse, alienation, disability, violence, and xenophobia connect in a mosaic of hope and resistance that demands justice and the right to a better future.
upcoming Event
It’s time to cheat on your barber as Barber Shop opens in Johannesburg
6-30 Nov 2025
All men will be free this November to cheat on their barber and never regret it, as The Market Theatre ends the year with staging the renowned “Barber Shop Chronicles” for the first time on African soil. Brilliantly written by Nigerian-born British playwright, Inua Ellams, the international-hit play is directed by Sibusiso Mamba.
The play chronicles six barbershops across the cities of Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos, Accra as well as London. It’s an insightful exploration of masculinity, vulnerability and connection. Ellams explains, “The narrative unfolds over a single day, connecting the lives and stories of African men. These barbershops serve as sanctuaries where men gather not just for haircuts but for camaraderie, debate and solace, exploring themes of identity, fatherhood, history, relationships, culture, race and masculinity.
upcoming Event
Kaza Kamba Pan African Theatre Festival Returns to The Market for its 2nd iteration
06-09 Nov 2025
The Market Theatre and mehlo-maya (eye-to-the-sun) have once again partnered for the four-day festival of theatre, music, workshops, film screenings and talks, curated by Bobby Rodwell and Lesego Rampolokeng. This dynamic new festival, which takes place from 06 – 09 November 2025, brings together the arts and the political discourse.
The festival features seven Southern African countries, making it a very critical cross-border initiative aimed at strengthening ties between countries. Again, it gives audiences an opportunity to immerse themselves in the stories of our sub-region.
upcoming Event
Afropocalypse
19 Nov - 07 Dec 2025
Afropocalypse is a new South African production, directed by Daniel Buckland and which was first performed by The Market Theatre Laboratory students as part of their First-Year production module. In their final year of study,2025, the Lab students reworked the production and travelled with it to the National Arts Festival, where they won a GOLD Standard Bank Ovation Award.
