The Market Theatre opens its first Queer Festival with Evita, new plays and a queer chorus

The Market Theatre's first Queer Festival opens in Newtown, Johannesburg, today and runs until Sunday, 25 October. Over five days the theatre is staging nine performances across drama, cabaret, dance, a choral concert and new writing, timed for Pride Month and the theatre's 50th year.

"With this inaugural iteration, we enter a bold new chapter, promising a vibrant celebration of identity, resistance and radical joy," said Greg Homann, artistic director of the Market Theatre Foundation. "The Market Theatre has always thrived on being home to the South African story across all backgrounds and experiences. With this festival, we once again make a statement of safe belonging and free expression."

Opening day

Pieter-Dirk Uys gives a single performance of Evita @ 91 on the opening day. The theatre says the show marks 35 years since Evita Bezuidenhout was first conceived at the Market in 1981.

Two new plays already in their runs sit at the centre of the programme. Shockwave, written by Chantal Stanfield and directed by David Dennis, is set during PW Botha's State of Emergency in the 1980s and follows Larry, a young man facing questions of sexuality, faith and belonging. It plays in the Mannie Manim Theatre until 8 November.

The Breasts of Tiresias, written by Angelo de Klerk and Malcolm Purkey, draws on de Klerk's life as a trans man. Purkey, a former artistic director of the Market, directs Gerard Bester and Sandi Dlangalala, with live music by Carlo Mombelli and additional material by Renos Spanoudes. Its run ends on 25 October, the festival's last day.

The rest of the week

The Johannesburg Queer Chorus performs Archive, a concert about the city's queer community, on 22 October. Bum Stuff: A Cheeky Cabaret with an Anal Fixation, written and directed by Bruce J Little and commissioned by the Market, runs from 22 to 25 October and is restricted to audiences aged 18 and over. It deals with sex, shame, pleasure and communication through music, comedy and storytelling.

On 24 October, Thamsanqa Tshabalala presents Girls of the Golden West, a dance work performed once only in the Barney Simon Theatre. Tshabalala is the first dance-based recipient of the 2026 Barney Simon Residency at the Market Theatre Laboratory. The same day, Vuyelwa Maluleke brings back The Blue Album, a one-woman piece of poetry, monologue, movement and choral voice. It won the Outstanding Performance Award at the Kippies Fringe and a Silver Ovation Award on the National Arts Festival Fringe.

No Filter: A Showcase of Queer Writing, curated by Jason Wheeler and Maralin van Reenen, puts new LGBTQ+ writing by emerging and established writers on stage. The closing performance, by a local artist the theatre describes as prominent in the queer community, hasn't been announced yet.

The full programme and bookings are on the Market Theatre's website. The theatre is offering reduced prices for block bookings and school groups.