ON A SERIOUS NOTE: PRESS PLAY Premieres at POPArt Theatre Beginning July 31
Running at Johannesburg’s POPArt Theatre from July 31 to August 3.
By: A.A. Cristi Jul. 29, 2025
Kwasha Theatre Company returns to the stage with the world premiere of On a Serious Note: Press Play, a provocative new theatrical work running at Johannesburg’s POPArt Theatre from July 31 to August 3. Tickets range from R100 to R160 and are available at popartcentre.co.za.
Presented as a satirical performance collage, Press Play uses song, dance, and multimedia to confront the distorted portrayals of crime, race, and poverty in South Africa. The production skewers everything from religious parables and nature documentaries to reality TV and glitchy video games, all while exposing the media’s role in shaping—and erasing—lived experience.
“What unfolds is not the myth but the truth about people killed for being hungry, the bodies buried in silence, and the media machine that rewrites their deaths into trending headlines,” the company states.
Performances run Thursday through Saturday at 7 p.m., with a matinee on Sunday, August 3 at 3 p.m. All shows take place at POPArt Centre, 59 Dorset Road, Parkwood. Bookings can be made online or by calling 083 245 1040 (Hayleigh) or 082 472 2559 (Orly).
South Africa Awards - Live Stats
Best Musical - Top 3
1.
JOSEPH (Theatre on the Bay)
48.1% of votes
2.
MY FAIR LADY (Artscape Arena)
22.6% of votes
3.
THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW (Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre)
16.4% of votes
Videos