| 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 hours and 15 minutes (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 |
Songs for A New World, the glorious score and lyrics of Jason Robert Brown’s song cycle, is on in Cape Town, April 29 – May 10, 2026 at the Wave Theatre, Long Street, Cape Town. The stirring song cycle is beautifully performed by the Byron Bure Academy of Theatre Arts (BBATA). This impressive production celebrates the 10th birthday of BBATA, with beautiful solo and choral vocals and stunning staging – set and costumes (a muted palette of beiges and creams, with gorgeous textures) and terrific props. Direction is by Bure, with assistant direction by Tara Macpherson, musical direction by Casey Wallace, choreography by Jessica de Bod and Wendy Henrique and physical theatre by Luyanda Jantjies.
There are two casts – Stars and Moon. We saw the Stars cast. The monikers of the casts are named after a signature number, the hauntingly and achingly poignant, Stars and the Moon. The song is about a woman who rejected suitors who pledged to give her the “stars and the moon”. She declined. She was sure that all “she ever wanted” was a life “that was scripted and planned”. Champagne and yachts sounded like a better deal. As her older self, she looks back on her younger self and muses: “And I got my yacht, and the years went by and it never changed and it never grew and I never dreamed and I woke one day and looked around and thought, ‘My God, I’ll never have the moon.” Exquisite lyrics with a pop-jazzy riff and lyrical piano.
This was my first time encountering a stage production of Songs for A New World. I was not familiar with most of the songs and one could say that I became obsessed with listening to the soundtrack, before attending the production. Viewing the cycle live on stage a very different to some of the recordings that I watched online – with rather static staging. A thrilling aspect of this production, is the theatricality and energy of the performers and their movement, across the cubes on the multileveled set, designed by Stephan Fourie of Curated. The boxes, become plinths, ledges, precipices, bridges, spaces between moments of decision and indecision. The physicality enhances the intense emotions of the protagonists as they move physically and emotionally across the levels of the set. It is not just choreography but the use of the body in motion, as a medium to convey the struggles of the protagonists. Relationships – romantic and family – are complicated. It’s a puzzle. The set echoes that sense of puzzle – the pieces at angles – trying to fit.
The armature of the song cycle is the about that “one moment” but within that are other factors: what one inherits from family, chance and luck and historical events such as war which we may have no choice in but we have to live with and deal with the consequences. So, “one moment” under Brown’s gaze, become tangled with the gamut of possibilities, not necessarily under our control. On that note, there is the heart breaking, The Flagmaker, depicting a woman who sews a flag, while her son is at war. “The wise woman does what she knows … one more star, one more stripe as your pray your child is not dead”. The specific context of song is 1775, during the American Revolution. Sadly, the song resonates now in our war impacted present.
Brown wrote the cycle when he was 25. He drew on a jazz, pop, folk, blues, cabaret and other genres for the music. One wonders how at the age of 25 he had the maturity to pen the lyrics and the musical skill to compose the songs. Several of the songs are bleak and full of despair and loss, such as The Flagmaker, which imbues a counter-rhythm to the refrain “one moment”. It is almost as if Brown, age 25 was writing a letter to his older-self – cautioning himself to be mindful – to make wise decisions in his life choices.
That could have been mawkish, but throughout the song cycle, is the cognition that there are no easy answers in the prompt of “one moment”. For instance, in I’d Give It All for You, two protagonists admit that they can’t let go of each other, even though they have not been a good fit in the past. They decide to try and make a go of their stormy relationship. Indeed, who knows, how things work out with relationships? There is no script that we can follow towards happiness. Perhaps the protagonists in I’d Give It All for You, will eventually be okay. Therein lies the hope and optimism – that healing and happiness is possible, if one grasps the moments to connect, transcending the past for a better future in a “new world”.
Bravo to Bure and BBATA for this striking and bold production. The performers nail the nuances of Brown’s songs in their interpretations, guided by the direction of Bure and the creative team. I have mentioned the costumes but I will add here that I loved, loved the wardrobe with its detail; textures and range of textiles. That pings for me in a sense of weaving and threading, echoing how the songs are woven and threaded through each other. It is very tactile. Talking of pinging, loved the strip lighting, conjuring up airstrip, Broadway, liminal spaces between moments.
On the night that we attended, my plus one and I, had issues in hearing all the lyrics. We found the backtracks a tad too loud. Bure told me that on the previous night, the feedback was that the soundtrack was too soft. Hopefully, a balance can be found. I am grateful to Bure for giving us the opportunity to see Songs for a New World, on stage. I am not aware of other major productions of this cycle in Cape Town. It is a treat to see Songs on stage. It is my current fave playlist.
✳ Featured image: Kristina Burge from The Stars Cast, as The Flagmaker in Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown, presented and staged by the Byron Bure Academy of Theatre Arts (BBATA), April 29 – May 10, 2026, The Wave, Cape Town.
