Johannesburg Awakening Minds Debuts Long-Form Improv at Theatre on the Square

The Assembly Improv South Africa will present a landmark performance featuring Johannesburg Awakening Minds (JAM) at Theatre on the Square, Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, on Monday 8 December 2025 at 7pm. This special event marks JAM’s first foray into long-form improvisation, in collaboration with Johannesburg’s home of long-form improv, The Assembly Improv.

Founded in 2012 by award-winning actress Dorothy Ann Gould, Johannesburg Awakening Minds is a theatre group made up of formerly homeless men and women who have transformed their lives through Shakespeare, poetry, and rigorous training in acting and voice. Their work has included voice and breathing techniques, physical warm-ups, creative writing, painting and emotional release – using classic texts such as Macbeth, King Lear and Richard III as powerful containers for lived experience, rage and grief, and ultimately healing and self-expression.

From their beginnings on the streets of Johannesburg, JAM has gone on to perform at venues such as Arts Alive, Johannesburg Theatre, PopArt Theatre, and events for the Shakespeare Society of Southern Africa and Classic FM audiences. They have also held a residency at the Windybrow Arts Centre, a division of the Market Theatre Foundation, which has supported the ensemble with space, technical resources and showcases. Their own motto, “From the Streets to the Stars”, captures both their journey and their artistic ambition.

The upcoming Sandton performance will see JAM stepping into a new artistic territory: long-form improv. Unlike short, game-based sketches, long-form improv builds extended scenes and stories from a single audience suggestion, exploring relationships, characters and situations in real time. This is the core focus of The Assembly Improv, an artist-run company based in Johannesburg and part of a global network with hubs in Toronto, Mexico, Amsterdam and South Africa.

“At The Assembly, we believe long-form improv is one of the most generous ways to tell stories – it demands listening, presence and genuine connection on stage,” says Paul Rabenowitz, founder of The Assembly Improv South Africa. “JAM’s work is rooted in truth, resilience and deep ensemble support. Bringing that energy into long-form improv is going to be electric – and profoundly moving – for both performers and audience.”

The evening, titled “The Assembly Improv Show”, will feature performers from The Assembly Improv, Johannesburg Awakening Minds and fellow improvisers Just Ndu It, offering an hour of unscripted theatre where no two scenes can ever be repeated.  Audiences can expect a blend of humour and heart, with stories that move fluidly between comedy and drama, shaped entirely by audience suggestions.

Performing at Theatre on the Square adds an important chapter to JAM’s story. The 200-seater venue, founded and produced by Daphne Kuhn, has been a cornerstone of Johannesburg theatre since the 1990s, hosting a wide range of plays, concerts and festivals and nurturing generations of South African artists.