Stage: Four new plays to be presented at 2025 Masque’s One-Act Play Festival

Four exciting new one act South African plays will be presented at the Masque’s One-Act Play Festival which is on April 10-12, 2025. Two plays are on per night. Read on for more about the festival and the plays. Info as supplied:

The Masque’s One-Act Play Festival once again proudly presents four new South African plays, which have been developed as part of the Theatre’s Play Reading Programme.

This year, the Festival runs from April 10-12, 2025 featuring works by writers Lauren Bates, Alex Learmont, Dawn Garisch and Charlene Colling.

“Each script has been through our Play Reading Programme and is ready to be brought to life on stage. After the performance, audiences will have a chance to chat to the writers, directors and actors about the entire process,” says Festival Director Melanie O’Connor Horn, who will host the post-performance discussions.

“South Africa’s vibrant theatre industry has a wealth of stories to tell, and we have seen the diverse range of topics covered from the scripts we received,” she says. “Each writer who has their script selected for the monthly playreading programme receives feedback on their writing. From the monthly series, we select four productions to be staged as part of the One-Act Play Festival. We are proud to be able to provide this platform, celebrating South African writers and their stories.”

Festival Director Melanie O’Connor Horn fell in love with theatre in primary school. She took to the Masque stage while at high school and has been intermittently involved in amateur theatre ever since, as both director and actor. She completed a BA in English and Drama and went on to help many students find their voices, both on the page and the stage.

Dust is written by Lauren Bates and directed by Sue Wilkes. The play tells the tale of a young, white Capetonian woman, Megan Storey, newly qualified as an English teacher, beginning her career at an under-resourced school on the Cape Flats. Megan instantly clashes with the head of her department, Clive Adams, who has been at the school for nearly 30 years. Megan encourages her students, particularly a matric student named Jason, to dream of achieving something outstanding. Despite the tragic events that strike the school, the play is a hopeful celebration of both art and reconciliation.

Written by Alex Learmont and directed by Digby Young, The Dropped Baby explores:

Who are you? Who were you in your class photo? Your wedding photo? Are you your memories? Can your memory be trusted? What made you who you are? Full of wry humour, The Dropped Baby tells the surprising but troubled life story of Charlie Niemand, a man who is just this side of the grave.

Knock is written by Dawn Garisch and directed by Ceridwen Morris. The play is set in a seaside resort. A woman knocks on a man’s door asking for sugar. An intriguing encounter follows – two people in a room, rudderless under a sickle moon.

“Fear can ruin your life.”

“Fear can save your life!”

Our first Afrikaans entry to the programme, H(Eg) is written by Charlene Colling and directed by Dian Harcovecchio. H(Eg) centres around Klara, a 19-year-old woman with a passion for dance, who is navigating the challenges of adulthood while dealing with the impending loss of her best friend, Hanri, to cancer. The story unfolds through vignettes of Klara’s life – meeting Hanri for the first time, her strained relationship with her parents, and her loving bond with Maggie, the family’s housekeeper. It’s a story of grief and hope as Klara continues to strive for her dreams.

The schedule is:

Thursday April 10, 7:30pm – H(Eg) and Dust

Friday April 11, 7:30pm – The Dropped Baby and Knock Knock

Saturday April 12, 2:30pm – The Dropped Baby and Knock Knock

Saturday April 12, 7:30pm – H(Eg) and Dust

Tickets cost R120

Bookings can be made at Quicket – https://qkt.io/1-AFest2025

If you have a play you would like to submit for the monthly Play Reading Programme, please complete this form: https://forms.gle/Sy4kBoGHcEsPZUk49 

The Box Office at The Masque is open three days a week.

Visit them on Tuesday, Wednesday and Fridays between 9am and 2pm.

 The Masque is situated at 37 Main Rd, Muizenberg, Cape Town, 7950, South Africa.

Parking is available at the venue. Wheelchair Access and Facilities available.

 The Masque has a back-up generator so the show will go on, even when there is load shedding!

 *Join The Masque community! Become a member and have your say in the theatre. You can also sign up as a volunteer to participate on stage or behind the scenes, from stage management to archiving the wardrobe department! 

Sign up here https://www.themasque.co.za/volunteer

The playwrights:

Lauren Bates (Dust)

Lauren Bates has been writing plays since high school. Her one act play, Wax Poetic, won the audience choice award at the Masque Theatre One-Act Play Festival in 2002, when she was only seventeen. Lauren now has a Masters in Shakespeare and Creativity from the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-Upon-Avon. She currently teaches drama at Oakley House High School in Diep River and runs an Educational Theatre Company called Educasions, which takes plays into schools.

Alex Learmont (The Dropped Baby)

Alex Learmont was born in Scotland in 1942. Now resident in Cape Town, Alex was active in film production until 2018 as writer/director/cameraman in corporate communication, training, educational docudrama, international news and current affairs. Alex has written short stories, four unpublished novels and approximately 400 short film scripts, but The Dropped Baby is his first play.

Dawn Garisch (Knock Knock)

Dawn Garisch is an award-winning author, medical doctor, creative facilitator and founding member of the NPO the Life Righting Collective. She has had seven novels, two collections of poetry, a non-fiction work and a memoir published. She has also written for the stage and film. Her poem Blood Delta won the DALRO prize (2007) and Miracle won the EU Sol Plaatjie Poetry Award (2011). Her novel Breaking Milk was short-listed for the CNA Sunday Times award in 2021. A collection of short stories What Remains was published in 2023.

Charlene Colling ( H(Eg) )

Charlene Colling is an accomplished playwright, director, and stage manager. She earned her BA Honours in Drama and Theatre Arts from the University of the Free State (UFS). Her educational journey also includes a BA in Drama and Theatre Arts and various certifications from North-West University and the Akademie vir Drama Kuns. Charlene has worked as a stage manager at the Vrystaat Arts Festival and the Vrystaat Mini Market, before moving to Cape Town to continue her pursuit of a life in the arts.

The Masque

The Masque is an iconic cornerstone of Cape Town’s cultural landscape, celebrating over six decades of fostering creativity, inclusivity and community spirit. Founded by the visionary Bertie Stern, The Masque boldly stood as a beacon of inclusivity, one of only two theatres at the time that welcomed participants of all backgrounds through its doors. 

Home to many amateur theatre societies over the years, it was forced to close in 1997 following a devastating fire. It reopened in 1999,largely thanks to the generosity of the late Joan St Leger-Lindberg. This enabled The Masque to carry on with its work as a vibrant and resilient community-driven venue, encouraging voluntary participation in all forms of theatre by all people. 

Today, under the dedicated stewardship of the Stern Masque Theatre Trust, The Masque continues to thrive, curating high-quality amateur productions, promoting skills development, providing a service of artistic engagement with the community, celebrating diversity and building on the theatre’s reputation as a sought-after professional venue-for-hire.

Through innovation, growth and creativity, as well as the support of volunteers and members, The Masque remains an important part of the social fabric, welcoming audiences of all backgrounds to experience the magic of live theatre.

The Masque offers a wide range of projects and programmes, including:

 *Annual productions such as its holiday season fairytale and Valentine’s Soiree;
*The Youth Theatre and Curtain Up Clubs running for 8 – 16 year olds in term time;
*Film masterclasses;
*The chance for people to learn about theatre with The Masque’s workshops, covering topics such as set design, sound and lighting and directing;
*A playreading series that provides the chance for writers to have their new scripts brought to life, as well as the opportunity for the public to be part of the development process.

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