The Baxter Theatre Centre is an iconic Cape Town spot for lovers of the performing arts. Sitting at the foot of the mountain on UCT’s lower campus, the theatre is known for telling important South African stories.
Here’s what you can watch this August:
The Beauty Queen of Leenane
The Beauty Queen of Leenane, a theatrical masterpiece by acclaimed Irish playwright Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Hangmen) and the recipient of four Tony Award nominations, is a darkly comic tale about the turbulent, dysfunctional, and often savage relationship between mother and daughter, Mag and Maureen Folan.
Following a smash-hit season in Johannesburg in October 2022, the production is set to transfer to Cape Town’s Baxter Theatre in August 2023.
The play centres around the life of Maureen, an unmarried middle-aged woman, as she cares for her ailing mother Mag, and tries to find love. When the two brothers enter, we are set on a path to the play’s thrilling conclusion. Interspersed with romance and humour. This psychological thriller will have audiences on the edge of their seats.Multi-award winner Charmaine Weir-Smith (The Train Driver) directs a stellar cast starring Jennifer Steyn (Recipes for Love and Murder, The Inconvenience Of Wings) as Mag, Julie-Anne McDowell (The Revlon Girl, Couplet) as Maureen, Bryan Hiles (Sweeney Todd, Cabaret) as Pato, and Sven Ruygrok (Spud, Abraham Lincoln) as Ray.
The production is designed by multiple award-winning designers Greg King (set) and Denis Hutchinson (lighting).
- Dates: 2 to 19 August
- Start time: 7:30pm
- Duration: 105 minutes
- Age restriction: 12+
- Cost: R160 – R220
- Tickets: Here
Also read: Booker Award-winning novel comes to life on stage in Cape Town
why do moths fly like crazy fucks in the night
Award-winning South African writer, actress and visual artist, Sue Pam-Grant’s latest one-woman play is inspired by the life and work of Louise Bourgeois, one of the most prolific and fascinating visual artists of the 20th century.
This visceral reimagined contemporary portrait for the stage profoundly explores the creative process and spirit. This tour-de-force stars Pam-Grant in the complex and multi-faceted role of ‘The Artist’ under Fred Abrahamse’s astute direction.
The Masambe will be transformed into a poetic, liminal space, blurring the boundaries between gallery, theatre, and artist’s studio as we voyeuristically observe The Artist wrestling with her work, life, and personal demons.
- Dates: 3 to 26 August
- Start time: 7:30pm
- Duration: 75 minutes
- Cost: R150 – R220
- Tickets: Here
Also read:
Picture: Baxter Theatre