The Baxter Zabalaza Theatre Festival will again come alive with a wide variety of productions from Friday 8 to Friday 16 March.
Dance, drama, music and poetry will permeate and reverberate throughout the Rondebosch theatre, with some of the freshest and innovative voices in development theatre, staging their work.
The popular festival, the 14th, will showcase 33 productions and 125 participants, from communities across the province, who will entertain, captivate and intrigue audiences.
These include two Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport production winners from Hermanus and Plettenberg Bay as well as children’s theatre productions by Magnet Theatre, UNIMA & Indawo Yobomi and the Jungle Theatre Company.
For more than a decade the festival has grown and developed young theatre-makers and artists, many who have gone on to receive recognition and accolades in the local and, in some cases, international theatre landscape.
Since its inception, the Zabalaza Family Day has been a much-loved start to the award-winning festival. On Saturday 9 March there will be horse riding, a jumping castle for children to enjoy and a children’s theatre programme from 09:45 to noon. Later that day there will be live performances by Qhama Musiq X Msaka Mona in the Baxter Garden. The main festival programme includes themes of tradition, culture and identity.
The main festival takes place from Monday 11 to Friday 15 March, with performances at 10:00, 11:00, noon and 19:00 daily. These productions were selected after months of mentorship and development, culminating in mini festivals held over three weekends at Makukhanye Art Room in Khayelitsha, Black Box Theatre, Delft Rent Office in Delft, Gugu’s Thebe in Langa and The Baxter respectively.
The festival will culminate in an awards ceremony on Friday 16 March, where accolades will be handed to various artists and productions and the Best of Zabalaza 2024 winners will be announced.
Last year’s four winning productions toured the province thanks to a collaboration with STAND Foundation.
Tickets to the main festival are R30 each or R50 for two shows for schools and organisations only, and are available via Webtickets on 086 111 0005, online at www.webtickets.co.za or at Pick n Pay stores.
