| What: Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown Presented by and featuring: The Byron Bure Academy of Theatre Arts (BBATA) Venue: The Wave Theatre (Above Tigers Milk, 44 Long Street, Cape Town) Dates: April 29 – May 10, 2026 Duration: Approximately 2.5 hours (including a 20-minute interval) Tickets: R200 Direct booking link: https://catchthewave.co.za/tc-events/songs-for-a-new-world/ Director: Byron Groenewald-Bure Assistant director: Tara Macpherson Musical director: Casey Wallace Choreography: Jessica de Bod and Wendy Henrique Physical theatre: Luyanda Jantjies |
Congrats to the Byron Bure Academy of Theatre Arts (BBATA), which is celebrating a decade on the boards in Cape Town. As part of its 10th anniversary celebrations, BBATA is staging Jason Robert Brown’s acclaimed Songs for a New World. The song cycle, was first performed in 1994. It was revived in 2018, with minor tweaks, explains director Byron Groenewald-Bure. “We’re doing the 2018 version. The original had a cast of four. We are doing it with 13. We have gender-bent some roles but the overall message stays the same.” Intrigued? Read on for more:
Songs for a New World, presented by The Byron Bure Academy of Theatre Arts, Cape Town
From April 29 to May 10, 2026, the Byron Bure Academy of Theatre Arts (BBATA), as part of its 10th anniversary celebration, is staging a vibrant production of Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown at The Wave Theatre (44 Long Street).
This production, from the team behind the sold-out Shrek, The Musical (2025), features a powerful, diverse cast with strong vocal abilities and emotional range across pop, gospel, and jazz-infused songs exploring pivotal moments of choice and transformation.
This contemporary musical revue explores pivotal moments of choice and transformation, as Brown himself describes it, “it’s about one moment… about hitting the wall and having to make a choice.” Through interconnected stories that span time and place, from a 1492 sailing ship to a New York penthouse ledge, the production follows characters standing at life-defining crossroads. The message, even in uncertainty, remains hopeful: we’ll be fine.
The score blends pop, gospel, and jazz influences with powerful harmonies and emotionally charged storytelling with hits like “Stars and the Moon”, “King of the World”, “Just one Step” and “I’m not Afraid”, making it a dynamic showcase for a diverse and vocally strong cast. With two alternating casts, audiences have multiple opportunities to experience this moving and vocally rich production.
Production Details
Venue: The Wave Theatre (Above Tigers Milk, 44 Long Street, Cape Town)
Dates: April 29 – May 10, 2026
Duration: Approximately 2.5 hours (including a 20-minute interval)
Tickets: R200
Booking link / https://catchthewave.co.za/tc-events/songs-for-a-new-world/
Production credits
Directed by Byron Groenewald-Bure
Assistant Director: Tara Macpherson
Musical Direction: Casey Wallace
Choreography: Jessica de Bod & Wendy Henrique
Physical Theatre: Luyanda Jantjies
| About Byron Bure Academy of Theatre Arts BBATA Byron Bure Academy of Theatre Arts is a Cape Town-based performing arts academy offering drama, dance, musical theatre and vocal training for all ages, focused on nurturing confident, expressive performers, Website: www.bbata.co.za Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/byronbureacademyoftheatrearts Facebook: http://byronbureacademyoftheatrearts/ |
❇ Featured image: The Byron Bure Academy of Theatre Arts (BBATA) in Cape Town is celebrating a decade on the boards in Cape Town. As part of its 10th anniversary celebrations, BBATA is staging Jason Robert Brown’s acclaimed Songs for a New World at The Wave Theatre from April 29 – May 10, 2026. Sponsored feature. Images supplied.
