What: The Princess and The Pea
Where: The Masque, 37 Main Rd, Muizenberg, Cape Town, 7950, South Africa
When: December 12 to January 11, 2025
Tickets: R160 (adults), R130 (seniors and under 18s). Family discount – four tickets for R500 (R125 each)
Bookings: Quicket
Masque Box Office: Open Tuesday, Wednesday and Fridays between 9am and 2pm
Written and directed by: Savannah Steyn
Musical direction: Lara Basson
Parking: Available at the venue. Wheelchair access and facilities available. ย  ย  ย  ย 

The Masqueโ€™s annual fairytale production has become a hit of the Cape Town festive season, with a fresh and vibrant take on classic tales for young and hip audiences. We are excited to see what Savannah Steyn has cooked up for The Princess and The Pea, which will be on from December 12 to January 11, 2025. She has also written the script. Musical direction is by Lara Basson. Read on for more:

Spice up your festive season with The Masqueโ€™s delicious fairytale The Princess and the Pea

The Masque is cooking up its annual fairytale magic for the festive season with a brand-new production The Princess and The Pea!


The Masqueโ€™s highly anticipated year-end production has become renowned for being a fresh, funky and vibrant interpretation of a wonderful classic, washed down with a good measure of fabulous songs, hilarious comedy and fun for all the family.

The Princess and The Pea will run at The Masque from December 12 to January 11, 2025. Bookings can be made at Quicket

Add some spice to your festive season and discover that the recipe for a true hero is a pinch of bravery, a dash of honour, a swig of dry humour and a teaspoon of something special.

Princess Anika will need to learn the true meaning of how to be a just ruler, young Eli must figure out how to stand up for himself and dear Stefan must realise that he’s more than just his looks. Oh, and Pepper – the vivacious chef – is going to teach everyone how to rip up the recipe of life!

โ€œFor this year’s fairytale, we’re adding plenty of local flavour with music from Freshlyground, Jesse and Johnny Clegg and Shekhinah,โ€ says show producer and The Masque Programme Manager Faeron Wheeler.  โ€œThere’s also a sprinkling of Shakira (you know which song we’re talking about!), Adam Lambert, Meghan Trainor and a dash of Disney to give something for everyone’s tastebuds.โ€

Written and directed by Savannah Steyn, musical direction is by Lara Basson.

โ€˜I wanted to cook up a hearty story thatโ€™s sweet, a little nutty, and full of flavour for the whole family โ€” and with our wonderfully quirky cast, a pinch of backstage brilliance, and a sprinkle of Masque magic, audiences are in for a truly five-star fairytale feast!โ€™ says Savannah Steyn, writer and director of the production.

The Princess and the Pea marks a full circle moment at The Masque for Savannah. Over the past two years, she has taken on a wide range of creative and technical roles.  She started as Production Secretary Intern and Assistant Stage Manager for Twelfth Night, before stepping into Production Management for Rapunzel and Murder on the Nile, progressing to Assistant Director for Red Riding Hood. Most recently she employed her creative eye as Set Designer for Hamlet and Props Master for Little Shop of Horrors.

โ€œI am absolutely thrilled to be writing and directing this new production,โ€ she says. โ€œBring the kids and granny and grandpa to a matinee and experience the wonder of a fairy parade after the show, or gather your friends for a great night out filled with laughter. Whatever you choose – magic and fun are definitely on the menu!โ€

Lara Basson has been involved with the Cape Town community theatre scene for more than ten years as a performer, musician and musical director. 2025 productions include Stages Through the Ages and It’s Gonna Be May (performer/musical director), The Long Way Home (singer/band), and The Taming of the Shrew (music supervisor).

Princess and the Pea will be performed on:

December 12,13,18,19, 20 and January 8, 9 and 10 at 19h30

December 13, 1 4, 16, 20, 21 and January 10 & 11 at 14h30

Fairy parade after all matinees!

Tickets cost:

Adults – R160

Pensioners – R130

Under 18s – R130

Family discount – four tickets for R500 (R125 each)

Recommended for ages 5+

The Masque would like to sincerely thank Silwood School of Cookery for their support of this production.

The Box Office at The Masque is open three days a week.

Visit them on Tuesday, Wednesday and Fridays between 9am and 2pm.

The Masque is situated at 37 Main Rd, Muizenberg, Cape Town, 7950, South Africa.

Parking is available at the venue. Wheelchair Access and Facilities available.

The Masque has a back-up generator so the show will go on, even when there is load shedding!

*Join The Masque community! Become a member and have your say in the theatre. You can also sign up as a volunteer to participate on stage or behind the scenes, from stage management to archiving the wardrobe department! 

Sign up here https://www.themasque.co.za/volunteer

Join the conversation on social media:

https://www.facebook.com/masquetheatresa
https://www.instagram.com/masquetheatresa/
www.themasque.co.za

Invest in the future of The Masque, donate here.
Sign up to be a volunteer: https://www.themasque.co.za/volunteer ย  ย  ย 

Savannah Steyn (writer and director)

Savannah Steyn is an award-winning playwright whoโ€™s cooked up stories for audiences locally and abroad. Her work has been at festivals such as Zabalaza, Suidoosterfees, and Redhill. Trained at the Trinity College of London and UCTโ€™s Centre for Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies, Savannah blends her ingredients of directing and facilitation into the rich recipe of her company, Three-C-Productions.

A Mandela Rhodes Scholar with a masterโ€™s in Applied Theatre and Drama Studies, she whisks together themes of cultural diversity and youth voices. With The Princess & The Pea, she hopes to crack open hearts and inspire others to spice things up!

Lara Basson (music director)

Lara has been involved with the Cape Town community theatre scene for more than ten years as a performer, musician and musical director. 2025 productions include Stages Through the Ages and It’s Gonna Be May (performer/musical director), The Long Way Home (singer/band), and The Taming of the Shrew (music supervisor).

When not on stage/rehearsing/hauling sound equipment, Lara heads up R&D at a tech company; in what passes for spare time, she takes theatre photos, tinkers with music production, and plays far too many instruments. She’s excited to be working with The Masque team on this fabulous fairytale!

The Masque

The Masque is an iconic cornerstone of Cape Townโ€™s cultural landscape, celebrating over six decades of fostering creativity, inclusivity and community spirit. Founded by the visionary Bertie Stern, The Masque boldly stood as a beacon of inclusivity, one of only two theatres at the time that welcomed participants of all backgrounds through its doors. 

Home to many amateur theatre societies over the years, it was forced to close in 1997 following a devastating fire. It reopened in 1999,largely thanks to the generosity of the late Joan St Leger-Lindberg. This enabled The Masque to carry on with its work as a vibrant and resilient community-driven venue, encouraging voluntary participation in all forms of theatre by all people. 

Today, under the dedicated stewardship of the Stern Masque Theatre Trust, The Masque continues to thrive, curating high-quality amateur productions, promoting skills development, providing a service of artistic engagement with the community, celebrating diversity and building on the theatreโ€™s reputation as a sought-after professional venue-for-hire.

Through innovation, growth and creativity, as well as the support of volunteers and members, The Masque remains an important part of the social fabric, welcoming audiences of all backgrounds to experience the magic of live theatre.

The Masque offers a wide range of projects and programmes, including:

*Annual productions such as its holiday season fairytale and Valentineโ€™s Soiree;
*The Youth Theatre Club running for 8 – 16 year olds in term time;
*The chance for people to learn about theatre with The Masque’s workshops, covering topics such as set design, sound and lighting and directing;
*The Play Reading Programme, which provides the chance for writers to have their new scripts brought to life, as well as the opportunity for the public to be part of the development process. Selected plays are presented as part of The Masqueโ€™s One-Act Play Festival.


Invest in the future of The Masque, donate here.

Ruth-Anne Lake, Clarenda van der Walt, Geoffrey Muller, Richard Thomas and Sydney De Klerk in The Princess and the Pea, The Masque, Cape Town, December 12 to January 11, 2025. Pic: Nicholas Herrmann.

โœณ Featured image: Richard Thomas, Ruth-Anne Lake, Geoffrey Muller in The Princess and the Pea, The Masque, Cape Town, December 12 to January 11, 2025. Sponsored content. Images supplied.