| What: You Should Go In Writer: Emma Amber When: April 15–25, 2026. Matinee performances on each Saturday of the season Where: Baxter Masambe, Cape Town Bookings: Webtickets Info https://baxter.uct.ac.za/whats-events Performers: Emma Amber and Anja Taljaard Director: Harley Ferguson Understudy: Taylyn Miller Producer: Origen Productions |
You Should Go In but do you want to? You Should Go In is the title of the new play by Fleur du Cap nominated Emma Amber, which is premiering at the Baxter Masambe, April 15-25, 2026. The narrative pivots around Olly (Amber) who has not seen her father for twenty years. Oly is in the waiting room of a step-down retirement facility and is urged by Alice, the nurse (Anja Taljaard) to go in – and? Forgive him? Or what? Read on for more about this new drama, presented by Origen Productions:
YOU SHOULD GO IN
A powerful new South African drama by Emma Amber and Origen Productions
April 15–25, 2026 | Masambe Theatre | Baxter Theatre Centre
Origen Productions presents You Should Go In, a moving and deeply human new South African drama exploring family, abandonment, forgiveness, and the emotional cost of unfinished conversations.
Running at the Masambe Theatre at the Baxter Theatre Centre from April 15–25, 2026, this intimate two-hander features matinee performances on select dates.
About the Play
Olly hasn’t seen her father in 20 years.
Now, as he lies dying in a step-down retirement facility, his nurse Alice urges her to grant him his final wish: to reconcile and say goodbye.
But Olly cannot let go of the pain he caused. She questions whether forgiveness can truly be deserved, and whether some decisions are so final that there is no coming back from them.
Tender, sharp, and emotionally charged, You Should Go In asks:
What do we owe the people who hurt us? Just because someone is family, are we expected to love and care for them? Is it unnatural to feel nothing? Are there wounds that run too deep to heal?
This is a story about forgiveness – and the complicated road toward it.
Cast & Creative Team
Emma Amber (Writer & ‘Olly’)
Emma Amber is the founder of Origen Productions and a Fleur du Cap-nominated director for The Marvelous Wonderettes, in which she also performed the role of Cindy Lou, touring across South Africa.
Her play Love Me, Feed Me, Never Leave Me, which she wrote and directed, received an Ovation Award at the National Arts Festival 2025.
She is also the writer and director of Trial and Error, performed at the Baxter Masambe Theatre. Recent performance credits include ‘Fiona’ in Byron Bure’s ‘Shrek the Musical’ and ‘Cindy Lou’ in ‘The Jingle Belles’ at Daphne Kuhn’s Theatre on the Square
Anja Taljaard (‘Alice’)
Award-winning Cape Town actress, voice-over artist, and vocalist Anja Taljaard brings depth and nuance to the role of Alice.
She has achieved significant success in South African film, earning a nomination for Best Supporting Actress for ‘Juffrou X’ at the Silwerskerm Festival and winning Best Actress at the South African Independent Film Festival for her performance in ‘Hier’.
Her additional film credits include ‘Nicola’ in ‘Khaki Fever’, ‘Evie’ in ‘Glasshouse’, ‘Henda’ in ‘Niggies’, and more.
Anja was also part of the Ovation Award-winning run of Love Me, Feed Me, Never Leave Me at the National Arts Festival, as well as it’s Cape Town and Johannesburg runs.
Taylyn Miller (Understudy)
Taylyn Miller is a Waterfront Theatre College-trained actress, singer and improvisation performer.
Her theatre credits include ‘Suzy’ in ‘The Jingle Belles’ at Daphne Kuhn’s Theatre on the Square, the Drama Factory run of The Marvelous Wonderettes as ‘Suzy’, and ‘Kitty Devlin’ in Michaela Richards’ ‘Who Done Did It’ at Die Koelkamers Theatre, Drama Factory, and Theatre Arts.
Directed by Harley Ferguson
You Should Go In marks Harley Ferguson’s theatre directorial debut.
He previously directed the documentary ‘The Wanderer’, exploring the life and story of renowned wilderness artist Ingrid Nuss, as well as ‘Two Minutes to Curtain’, which participated in the 48-Hour Film Festival Cape Town 2025.
Ferguson describes directing ‘You Should Go In’ as both an honour and a responsibility – taking on themes that are deeply truthful, uncomfortable, and urgently human.
❇Emma Amber and Anja Taljaard in You Should Go In, Sponsored feature. Image supplied.
