Mdu Kweyama News

I’ve always loved seeing plays at the Flipside at the Baxter. Something about observing a production performed in the actual backstage area of the theatre makes me feel like I’m on hallowed ground – I’m somewhere that is sacred, special and usually off limits to the public. These feelings became even more heightened during TROUBLE IN MIND.

Alice Childress' Trouble in Mind will run at The Baxter Theatre in May. Learn how to purchase tickets.

The 13th annual Zabalaza Theatre Festival took place from 24 March until 31 March 2023. This year, the Festival boasted a whopping 37 productions and 189 participants. The very next day after the festival ended, the ZABALAZA AWARDS were held in the Golden Arrow Theatre at the Baxter Theatre Centre.

The Baxter's foyer was packed on Saturday night for the opening of this year's ZABALAZA THEATRE FESTIVAL. It is the festival's 13th year, and according to its Artistic Director and Curator, Mdu Kweyama, the core team started their planning in May of last year. One can imagine that this festival must be a beast to manage, boasting a total of 200 artists and 40 productions. The festival's schedule is fully packed, and the opening night was used to present snippets from each production.

IMBILINI… MY FRIEND! is a moving piece of physical theatre that has been carefully crafted for the stage. The chemistry between the two real-life friends, who also wrote and perform this original piece, is natural and completely tangible as you sit watching them move on stage.

It’s an incredible piece that seems almost naïve in story to being with but reveals a depth that is both disturbing and deeply impactful. The production of this story that is currently on at The Baxter’s Flipside Theatre is an adaptation created by Lara Foot.

A play intended to shock the conservative and probe at society's typical imaginings of marital breakdown, the Baxter's latest offering of the award-winning THE GOAT, OR WHO IS SYLVIA? has an equally acclaimed director and cast behind it; making it stand in good stead as a must-see for those brave enough to approach what they cannot 'unsee'.

Two productions presented by Eric Abraham and the Fugard Theatre have scooped an incredible ten Naledi Theatre Awards. The winners were announced at a glittering event last night (Monday 18 June) in Johannesburg.

The Baxter's Zabalaza Theatre Festival is calling for applications from theatre-makers, directors, script writers, community groups and theatre companies to participate in the 2019 Zabalaza Theatre Festival and the deadline for applications is 5pm on 31 July 2018.

Nominated for six Naledi Awards When Swallows Cry interweaves three stories set in Africa, or about African migrants and refugees. One story features a Canadian teacher - initially assumed to be an American - who is captured by a group of bandits in a West African country. He is held for ransom to generate the funds required to develop the region in which he is held. A second story features two Zimbabwean teachers who flee the economic hardships of their country in a boat heading to Fiji where they will not require visas for at least three months. However, the boat ventures into Australian waters and they are held at a detention centre for illegal immigrants, and are threatened with immediate deportation to Zimbabwe. The third story tells of a Somalian who leaves his war-torn country for South Africa, only to experience brutal xenophobic violence that obliges him to seek refuge in America. He obtains a legitimate US visa but is hounded at the port of entry; one of his tormentors is an African America official, a descendant of African slaves, but whose job it is to prevent "undesirables" entering America, and threatening their security. These stories, featuring three actors playing contrasting characters in the three different playlets, are multi-layered and raise numerous themes about contemporary mobility. The stories comment on each other, not necessarily in sequence, but as a whole.

Two productions presented by Eric Abraham and the Fugard Theatre have received an incredible 25 Naledi Theatre Award nominations.

The 2018 Best of Zabalaza Theatre Festival winner, Carlo Daniels' arresting two-hander Onweer, will take to the stage at the Baxter Golden Arrow Studio, for a short season, from 9 to 19 May, at 7.30pm nightly with matinee performances on 12 and 19 May at 3pm and 16 May at 11am.

After sold out performances in September 2017, Selwyn & Gabriel returns to the Alexander Bar.

After sold out performances in September 2017, Selwyn & Gabriel returns to the Alexander Bar.

The eighth annual 2018 Zabalaza Theatre Festival to showcase some 40 productions by dynamic young theatre-makers from all over the Western Cape.

TV star and sensational songstress Sihle Ndaba has joined the cast of the KING KONG - THE MUSICAL at the Fugard Theatre.  

Multiple award-winning actor and popular TV and film star Desmond Dube joins the cast of the Fugard Theatre's hit production of the iconic South African musical KING KONG. From 2 January 2018 he steps in to the central role of Pop in the production, which is currently playing at the Fugard Theatre in Cape Town until 18 February 2018.

After a sold-out six week season at the Fugard Theatre, the hit musical KING KONG returns by overwhelming public demand for the summer season. Presented by Eric Abraham and the Fugard Theatre, KING KONG will run from 12 December with bookings now extended to 18 February 2018.

The call for applications for the Baxter's Zabalaza Theatre Festival has been extended to 29 September at 17:00. Theatre-makers, directors, scriptwriters, community groups and theatre companies are encouraged to apply to participate festival before the new deadline.

The Eric Abraham and Fugard Theatre production of KING KONG has sold out its Cape Town first run. The show ends at the Fugard Theatre on 2 September before transferring to the Mandela Theatre at the Joburg Theatre in Johannesburg from 12 September until 8 October.