Bravo to Cape Ballet Africa on its production of Giselle at Maynardville 2026. There were two nights only – Tuesday January 20 and last night, Wednesday January 21. The venue was packed when I attended, last night. I could not see empty seats.
It was a treat to see Maina Gielgud’s extraordinary staging, for a 2nd time. I saw the premiere of this production in November 2025 in Cape Town and was enthralled. Seeing it under the stars, at Maynardville, enhanced this magnificent production. The setting of Giselle is pastoral and the park is a perfect space for this ballet, with the trees and bushes becoming characters in their own right.
Michael Mitchell’s set is heightened in the garden, particularly in Act 2, with the creepy, other worldly space, underworld lighting. D Clarke’s lighting plot is a masterclass of lighting in an outdoor space.
Giselle is an unsettling and disturbing story, with men behaving badly and a pack of scorned women who believe that it is too late to apologise, even if they are dead already. Gielgud’s robust and fierce staging does not whitewash the narrative. In the Maynardville staging, I felt it was more dreamy, with the wreckage of Giselle’s life, finding a sense of closure and healing in the embrace of nature. For me, in this production; there is a wonderful sense of submitting to nature, submitting to the universe. Giselle is ultimately able to forgive the transgressions of her lover, Albrecht, posing as a villager. That is the narrative. In the theatre production, the wreckage of Giselle’s life and drama, was central for me. In the Maynardville setting, the narrative transfigures the physical world, in the presence of nature and that brings in a magic which transcends reality.
I keep using the word “sublime” for Maynardville 2026 and I reiterate that for this production: Sublimely beautiful, immersive Giselle at Maynardville 2026
It would be wonderful if CBA could stage Giselle every year at Maynardville. Bravo to the dancers – all that en pointe stuff and hopping in the Ballet Blanc (White Ballet) in Act 2. The whole cast was a wow. Joshua Williams as Albrecht was beyond. “Bravos” were called out as he danced. It was a very special performance. One day – people will say – “were you there the night that Joshua Williams danced Albrecht in Giselle”. I love, love, loved.
The cast last night, Wednesday January 21:
GISELLE – Paige McElligott
ALBRECHT – Joshua Williams
MYRTHA – Maryana Pobuta
HILARION – Nicolas Laubscher PEASANT PAS DE DEUX – Gia Lipschitz and Aphiwe November
✳ Giselle at Maynardville 2026. Pic by Paul Seaby – the cast of January 20.
