Cape Town Theatre

Cape Town Theatre

When it comes to the dra­matic arts, the Mother City is a real diva. Home to a num­ber of theatres and per­form­ing arts groups as well as the world-class University of Cape Town arts and drama schools, you’ll never be at a loss for the­at­rical enter­tain­ment when vis­it­ing the city. Whether it be Shakespearean drama, dance, stand-up com­edy, Theatresports, or exper­i­mental fringe theatre, you’re bound to find some­thing to suit your taste.

For starters, as a theatre buff, you can hardly afford to miss out on the Maynardville exper­i­ence. The Maynardville Open-Air theatre is situ­ated in Wynberg and every year plays host to a pro­fes­sional pro­duc­tion of a Shakespearean play. Consisting of a beau­ti­ful wooden stage set under a can­opy of trees and flanked by a statue of the Bard him­self, Maynardville is truly the African home of all things Shakespearean. Often giv­ing fresh new takes on clas­sic pieces these pro­duc­tions go a long way in breath­ing new life to these canon­ical plays. Be sure to watch out for some of South Africa’s vet­eran act­ors at work. Jeremy Crutchley, for instance, has given some spec­tac­u­lar per­form­ances – as Shylock in the Merchant of Venice in 2008 and Malvolio in Twelfth Night.

The Artscape theatre is Cape Town’s premier theatre. With a huge opera house seat­ing over a thou­sand, a large theatre seat­ing over five hun­dred and two smal­ler theatres seat­ing over a hun­dred each, this mam­moth theatre com­plex offers some of the best inter­na­tional and local shows avail­able. Here, opera and bal­let hap­pily rubs shoulders with technology-inspired mul­ti­me­dia and exper­i­mental stage­craft, so whether it’s clas­sical theatre or some­thing more con­tem­por­ary you’re look­ing for — the Artscape never fails to deliver.

Ballet at Maynardville

The Baxter Theatre is another one of the stal­warts in the Capetonian theatre scene. Situated in Rondebosch, this play­house hosts some of the best pro­duc­tions on the the­at­rical cal­en­dar. Already hav­ing presen­ted shows as diverse as Kung-fu monks from The Shaolin Temple in China, American comedian Pauly Shore and plays by local play­writ­ing phe­nomenon Laura Foot Newton, the Baxter looks set to con­tinue the innov­a­tion this year, and is an essen­tial stop on your explor­a­tion of the city’s per­form­ing arts.

For a more intim­ate theatre exper­i­ence try the Theatre on the Bay. Residing in our very own “Little Miami”, Camps Bay, it offers a theatre-dinner exper­i­ence worth invest­ig­at­ing. The res­taur­ant is open for meals before and after shows and has a ver­sat­ile ever-changing menu, so if you’re a reg­u­lar theatre-goer you won’t get bored.

Kalk Bay Theatre

If you’re look­ing for a more com­munity theatre envir­on­ment, then The Masque Theatre in Muizenberg is a good choice.

This theatre offers ama­teur dra­matic per­form­ances by a num­ber of local am-dram soci­et­ies, giv­ing the oppor­tun­ity to see the work of lesser-known play­wrights a chance to be seen. It also offers mat­inee per­form­ances for those who want theatre dur­ing the day­light hours, so it’s a great place for a fam­ily theatre experience.

To book tick­ets for shows at the lar­ger theatres, con­tact Computicket at: Telephone Bookings: 083 915‑8000 or see Online Bookings: www.computicket.com.

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See more des­tin­a­tion info at:
Cape Town Events
Cape Town Attractions
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