The Market Theatre Laboratory

The Market Theatre Laboratory The Market Theatre drama school offers an intensive practical two year course in Performance and Theatre Skills.
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The Market Theatre drama school offers an intensive practical two year course in theatre and performance. Our aim is to train young performers and theatre-makers to be professional, disciplined, and excellent in their craft. We are committed to providing opportunities for youth from disadvantaged backgrounds who would not otherwise be able to study in this field, and we provide quality education a

nd professional preparation to enable our students to compete in the highly competitive theatre and entertainment industries.

KOPANP YA BATHO ALUMNI FESTIVAL | REWINDED 🎭MIND THE SCARF BY MiriamMind the Scarf is a one-woman educational comedy fol...
06/09/2026

KOPANP YA BATHO ALUMNI FESTIVAL | REWINDED 🎭

MIND THE SCARF BY Miriam

Mind the Scarf is a one-woman educational comedy following Aaliyah Ismail as she prepares for a wedding. Between choosing the perfect outfit, fixing her hair and make-up, and rehearsing the conversations she knows are coming, Aaliyah invites audiences into the vibrant, funny, and often misunderstood world of the South African Indian-Muslim community.

Drawing on lived experience and the stories of women from the community, Mind the Scarf uses humour to unpack cultural misconceptions, everyday rituals, and the unspoken expectations placed on women. The production celebrates the quirks, contradictions, and warmth of a culture that is too often reduced to stereotypes.

At its heart, Mind the Scarf is about creating space for an under-represented community. It is about belonging and the power of seeing oneself reflected on stage. It is an invitation to laugh, learn, and engage with the human stories that exist beyond assumptions, opening conversations about identity, culture, and community with honesty, compassion, and joy.

Images by (Wena We Sthombe, Bayede🙌🏽)

KOPANO YA BATHO ALUMNI FESTIVAL | REWINDED🎭GAU-TENG( FOR EBENHAEZER) by Mnqobi Molefe & Qondiswa James Gau-Teng (For Ebe...
06/09/2026

KOPANO YA BATHO ALUMNI FESTIVAL | REWINDED🎭

GAU-TENG( FOR EBENHAEZER) by Mnqobi Molefe & Qondiswa James

Gau-Teng (For Ebenhaezer) is a poetic theatre production that personifies South African cities as members of a fractured family, a surreal, musical tale about love, loss, and the ghosts that live in our streets.

At its heart, the story follows Gauteng and Kaapstad, two estranged lovers whose relationship mirrors the cultural, political and emotional distance between Johannesburg and Cape Town. Their “children”: Hilbrow, Yeoville, Maboneng, and others represent the decaying neighborhoods, lost dreams, and restless youth of a country still haunted by inequality, migration, and memory.

Through a fusion of performance ‘poetry’, ’music, and satire, the play unpacks the psychology of urban South Africa: cities as parents, suburbs as offspring, and streets as living archives of trauma and resilience

Images by (Wena We Sthombe, Bayede🙌🏽)

02/09/2026

The Cradle of Creativity Festival is in full swing 💃🏽🔥at The Market Theatre 🎭.

The cast of The Ungrateful Lion is ready to bring the jungle to life through music ,adventure and colorful animal characters. 🐾✨

The production was selected by The Lab from the 2nd year TFYA module 🙂‍↕️. This weekend , come to the Ramolao Makhene Theatre and spoil your little one with an adventure they’ll never forget. Prepare them for some laughter and sparks of excitement as we venture into a children’s theatre story that teaches kindness, gratitude and never biting the hand that feeds you.

See you in the Jungle .😍🫵🏾🤩

🌍🔥 CULTURE IS ALIVE!What do we inherit? What do we challenge? And what do we carry into the future?Join us for our final...
01/09/2026

🌍🔥 CULTURE IS ALIVE!

What do we inherit? What do we challenge? And what do we carry into the future?

Join us for our final OPEN CLASS this Saturday, as we journey through the PAST. PRESENT. FUTURE. 🎭✨ Experience a vibrant theatrical exploration of tradition, politics, society and the cultures that shape the way we live, think and connect.

📅 5 September 2026
⏰ 13:00–14:30
📍 Ramolao Makhene Theatre, Market Square Complex
🎟️ R40

Bring your curiosity. Bring your people. Come experience CULTURE with us! 🌍🎭

SouthAfricanTheatre LivePerformance 5September

The Lab is proud to be partnering with our very own Alumni (that’s right) Thabang Kwebu, on his production Nomzamo: Spea...
28/08/2026

The Lab is proud to be partnering with our very own Alumni (that’s right) Thabang Kwebu, on his production Nomzamo: Speaking from her Grave. 🙂‍↕️
After many years, Dalu (Dali Mpofu) visits the grave of Mama (Winnie Madikizela-Mandela).
But this is not just a visit to a grave. It becomes a journey back into memories and the complicated life of Nomzamo. ✨
Mama takes us into a conversation between the past and the present, asking us to look at the woman behind the name once again. ✊🏽

📆 28 - 30 August 2026
⏰ Friday 19h30, Saturday 13h00 & 19h30, Sunday 15h15
📍Ramolao Makhene Theatre, Market Square Complex
🎟️ R100

Let’s meet at the Market 😉

25/08/2026

HIGHLIGHTS | KOPANO YA BATHO ALUMNI FESTIVAL

From 21-23 August we welcomed 8 productions to come back home and stage their beautiful work to answer the question; Is there a market lab way of making work? And the answer is YES!

Thank you to everyone who came to the inaugural Lab Alumni Festival, we encourage more alumni’s to engage in this beautiful work.

Keep an eye on our social for more productions that will be gracing us at The Market theatre Laboratory including Yes Let's Experimental Festival taking place this September 2026!

THE THING BETWEEN US | BY THABANG CHAUKE & TUMELO NAMTWEYA-PHIRI🇿🇦Set in Uganda, where homosexuality remains criminalise...
24/08/2026

THE THING BETWEEN US | BY THABANG CHAUKE & TUMELO NAMTWEYA-PHIRI🇿🇦

Set in Uganda, where homosexuality remains criminalised, The Thing Between Us follows
two boys, Kaikara and Badru, whose friendship slowly evolves into love. As their dreams
begin to take shape, Kaikara hopes to become a writer while Badru dreams of becoming a
photographer, their relationship is tested by fear, ambition and survival. When private
photographs are exposed to the public, the consequences are devastating. Forced to confront
family, religion, state violence and betrayal, the two young men must decide whether love is
worth risking everything for. Blending physical theatre, movement, music and intimate
storytelling, The Thing Between Us explores identity, masculinity and the human cost of
living in a society where simply existing can become an act of resistance. At its heart, the
work asks: How do we protect love when the world insists it should not exist?

Thank you to everyone who came out for the KOPANO YA BATHO ALUMNI FESTIVAL, A beautiful weekend of theatre, music and experiments, A home coming where the chemistry does not leave the lab.

24/08/2026

A look back on this past Saturday where we did .

07:00AM on the 22nd we met up with our patrons to do a fun walk and run to find theatres on our 5KM radius & fun was really had, from to Improvisation games that left our participants in awe of their beautiful talents.

Thank you to POPArtJHB & Jaden Mmokwa Oratile Mosadi for the support and trust, the question remains, Should we make it a monthly thing? Comment below!

IDEAS CANNOT BE BOMBED | By Lawrence Simelane 🇿🇦 a powerful protest dance theatre production that honours the life, cour...
24/08/2026

IDEAS CANNOT BE BOMBED | By Lawrence Simelane 🇿🇦

a powerful protest dance theatre production that honours the life, courage
and enduring legacy of Black Consciousness leader Onkgopotse Abram Tiro, whose fearless
challenge to apartheid education transformed a graduation ceremony into a defining
moment of resistance. After his historic speech, Tiro was expelled, exiled and later
assassinated by a parcel bomb in Botswana. Yet his death could not destroy the ideas he
carried.

Through the fusion of spoken-word poetry, Pantsula dance, Image Theatre and physical
storytelling, the production traces the journey from silence to resistance, from the classroom
to the streets, and from oppression to liberation. Three poets become the voices of history,
memory and conscience, while the dancers embody students, teachers, government officials
and generations of young people who continue the struggle for justice.

Rather than recreating history alone, Parcel of Death asks urgent contemporary questions
about education, freedom and the responsibility of young people to think critically. It
reminds audiences that while a body can be destroyed, truth, dignity and revolutionary ideas
cannot be bombed. The production concludes with a celebration of collective courage, affirming that every generation inherits the unfinished work of liberation.

Thank you to everyone who came out for the KOPANO YA BATHO ALUMNI FESTIVAL, A beautiful weekend of theatre, music and experiments, A home coming where the chemistry does not leave the lab.

Address

138 Lillian Ngoyi Street (The Market Square)
Johannesburg
2000

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 17:00
Thursday 09:00 - 17:00
Friday 09:00 - 17:00
Saturday 08:30 - 16:00

Telephone

+27118387498

Website

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