| What: The Glass Menagerie/Speelgoed van glas When: The Glass Menagerie is on July 31 to August 7, 2025. Speelgoed van glas is on August 8 to 16, 2025 Where: Baxter Flipside, Cape Town Directed, translated and designed by: Nico Scheepers Cast: Includes Anna-Mart van der Merwe, Carla Smith, Ben Albertyn and Mark Elderkin Tickets: R160 to R210 at Webtickets Age restriction: 13 with parental guidance Duration: 60 minutes |
Two versions of Tennessee Williams’ play, The Glass Menagerie, directed, designed and translated by Nico Scheepers are playing in repertory in the Baxter Flipside, Cape Town. The Glass Menagerie is on July 31 to August 7, 2025. Speelgoed van glas is on August 8 to 16, 2025. Williams’ play was set in the 1930s – in St Louis – the American Midwest – reeling from the Depression. In Scheepers’ versions, an Afrikaans family is at the centre and the narrative is set “in South Africa in the 1990s – a country holding its breath”, reflects Scheepers. “It’s a quiet flat in an unnamed suburb, tucked away, where time seems to blur. This era, so charged with unspoken tension and fragile hope, echoes the emotional temperature of Williams’ original. The characters are caught between memory and change, between what was and what might be.” The dovetailing of English and Afrikaans versions brings in a “unique dialogue between language, memory and performance.”
TheCapeRobyn: Is the first time that you are presenting a season, in repertory of both of your versions of The Glass Menagerie – an English version and an Afrikaans version – Speelgoed van glas?
Nico Scheepers: Yes, this is the first time we’re presenting both versions of The Glass Menagerie / Speelgoed van Glas in repertory, at the same venue. It’s a first for me as a director, and certainly a first for this production. Audiences will now be able to experience both the Afrikaans and English versions side by side, which opens up a very unique dialogue between language, memory and performance. It’s a challenge, but also a gift.
TCR: How did this double season come about – did the Baxter commission it? Your idea? Baxter’s idea?
NS: The production was commissioned as a co-production by the Woordfees and the Baxter. So from the start, we always knew we would have a home at this incredible theatre at the end of our Afrikaans festival run. After the success of the Afrikaans version at Woordfees, we began conversations with Lara Foot about developing the English version and staging them together. It was a collaborative idea that the Baxter embraced and helped bring to life.
TCR: Can you talk about that – presenting two language versions- as opposed to surtitles? A lot of work for the actors?
NS: Presenting both versions rather than using surtitles was a creative decision. Surtitles often create a layer of distance between the audience and the performance, especially in such an intimate piece. Subtitles in a film works better, because you are already being presented a world, not asked to co-create it. I prefer this approach. The language in “Speelgoed van Glas” is so rooted in Afrikaans rhythm and emotional logic that a separate English version felt more respectful to the production. Yes, it’s a lot of work for the cast, but our Afrikaans actors are multi-lingual powerhouses – they have embraced it fully. It’s been incredibly moving to watch them shift between languages so seamlessly.
TCR: Can you talk about the title for the Afrikaans version – speelgoed – toys of glass – as opposed to menagerie- I don’t know what the Afrikaans translation would be for menagerie. It is an old fashioned word. “Toys” seem a lot more contemporary. Your thoughts on the title? And yet retaining Menagerie for the English version?
NS: “Menagerie” doesn’t have a direct equivalent in Afrikaans, and it’s quite an old-fashioned word even in English. “Speelgoed van Glas” (Toys of Glass) felt more emotionally direct. Laura’s collection is fragile, childlike, and deeply tied to fantasy and longing – especially in our 90s -set version filled with cartoons. The word “speelgoed” felt more tactile and emotionally charged for the world we were building. For the English version, we kept the original title because of its legacy, recognisability and cultural capital. It felt right to let each version carry its own emotional tone.
TCR: Where and when are your versions set? In Williams’ play, the setting is 1930s St Louis – American Midwest – reeling from the Depression. Your context? South Africa – where and when?
NS: Our version is set in South Africa in the 1990s —a country holding its breath. It’s a quiet flat in an unnamed suburb, tucked away, where time seems to blur. This era, so charged with unspoken tension and fragile hope, echoes the emotional temperature of Williams’ original. The characters are caught between memory and change, between what was and what might be.
We let our own visceral memories of the 90s guide our staging: the soft buzz of a tube TV, the flicker of cartoon VHS tapes, the sudden freedoms of a suffocated youth… These textures replace the phonographs and fire escapes of the original—totems of our own nostalgia. They’re not just set dressing, but memory triggers. This isn’t just a change in setting—it’s a reframing of emotional truth.
TCR: I am intrigued by the process of translating – taking your own Afrikaans adaptation/version and then translating that into English, retaining the essence of it being now about an Afrikaans family and not an mid-western American family. Translations go beyond “accent” which immediately brings in nuance. Language is a whole body which goes deeper. Your thoughts?
NS: Translating and then re-translating the play has been fascinating. Adapting into Afrikaans first gave us a chance to explore the piece through a very specific cultural lens. Returning to English wasn’t just reversing the process—it was layering. The English in this version still feels rooted in Afrikaans thinking. We didn’t aim for perfect grammar or polished dialogue; we tried to retain the emotional cadences and thought structure. Some Afrikaans words and phrases remain – for vernacular authenticity. The English you hear is spoken by an Afrikaans family, filtered by memory. Language lives in the body—in rhythm, silence, and breath. That’s what we tried to honour.
TCR: Insights into design – set, costumes and lighting?
NS: The design is minimal and intimate. The audience sits on either side of the stage, creating a voyeuristic energy. We’re watching this family from both sides, as if caught in a memory. The set is sparse but textured: every item an anchor for something deeper, beyond just the migration of glass animals across the carpet… Lighting is soft and ghostly, shifting gently between warmth and shadow. The entire world is built to feel like a faded recollection, flickering at the edge of memory.
✳ The Glass Menagerie/Speelgoed van glas – two versions of Tennessee Williams’ play, The Glass Menagerie, directed, designed and translated by Nico Scheepers are playing in repertory in the Baxter Flipside, Cape Town. The Glass Menagerie is on July 31 to August 7, 2025. Speelgoed van glas is on August 8 to 16, 2025
