| What: Superfan Writer: Mike van Graan Performer: John Maytham When: August 19 – September 12, 2026 Where: The Antique Theatre & Bar, 167 Kloof St, Gardens, Cape Town Runtime: Approximately 60 minutes Bookings: Webtickets |
Mike van Graan’s comedy-drama Superfan is a lot of fun, tapping into our adoration of the game and how it has united us as a nation – miraculously – if one considers how skewed the playing fields were pre Democracy. It is a love letter to rugby, an ode to rugby, with John Maytham morphing into the self-deprecating character of Superfan, businessman Oliver Watson who has an encyclopedic knowledge of rugby – channeled of course – from Mike van Graan’s script. This also pings with John Maytham, the polymath broadcaster. Oliver is on a mission to tailor a campaign motivated by the achievements of the Bokke to bring the nation together, with the political and personal, lining up fiercely on the field.
You don’t have to be cognisant of the game but it will definitely make you want to know more. In writing the script, van Graan was inspired by the documentaries, Chasing the Sun, which account the victories of the Springboks. I saw the documentaries but what absolutely converted me to rugby, was reading Rassie Erasmus’s autobiography, Rassie: Stories of Life and Rugby, co-written with journalist David O’Sullivan and published in August 2023. I was intrigued by his account of the rise of the Bokke and the origin stories of the players and insights into his own moves. On that note, I was fascinated by Rassie’s account of being a “Waterboy” on the field.
Anyway back to the Superfan. Despite being “old and having a dad bod”, as Oliver protests, he is there to take us on a journey into the theatre of rugby which has marshalled us along in this country. There is a whimsical touch to Superfan. It is a call-out for us to bond together. We don uniforms which unite us. I am writing this now, in the aftermath of match on the weekend (Saturday, August 29), when the Springboks played the All Blacks at Cape Town Stadium. The Bokke won – just. It was close. There was a mighty sigh of collective relief. Wherever I went, I saw people of all ages and demographics garbed in the green and gold T-shirt range from Pick ‘n Pay. The game has certainly brought us together. We were all spellbound by the fly-bys at the game on Saturday, at the Stadium, which were too close for comfort. It was rugby as pure theatre. That comes across in Superfan – the gees, thrills, anticipation, drama and gasps of wonder.
