What: The Young Professionals 2025 Where: Theatre Arts, Methodist Church Hall, corner Milton Road and Wesley Street, Observatory, Cape Town, 7925 When: February 3-16 , 2025 What: A season of theatre, dance and comedy by graduating students from UCT’s CTDPS and Stellenbosch University’s Drama Department Bookings: https://theatrearts.co.za Info: caroline@theatrearts.co.za or call 082 752 1376 |
Theatre and dance students at our tertiary institutions present work as part of their final year studies but unfortunately much of that work is not seen by the wider public. With the idea of making the work of young professionals accessible, in 2023, Theatre Arts launched its Young Professionals platform. This gives us the opportunity to see highly rated work by a diverse group of young theatre makers who are embarking on their careers. Read on for more about the 3rd iteration the Young Professionals. Info as supplied:
The Young Professionals 2025 at Theatre Arts
Each year a new cohort of young graduates from the many tertiary institutions around the country enter the creative industry, brimming with talent and enthusiasm. Their final year is brought to a close with performances that are staged a few times and then shelved. Despite the investment of time and resources many of these productions are never seen again. 2025 is the third year in which we are changing that narrative. The Young Professionals is bringing the best of their final year work to a local stage, and you have the opportunity to see them as they begin their burgeoning careers.
The Young Professionals at Theatre Arts was initiated in 2023 with 6 theatre and dance productions by graduates from UCT’s Centre for Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies CTDPS), Rhodes University and Stellenbosch University. This year the programme has become a series throughout the first part of 2025. With a focus on student work from UCT’s CTDPS and Stellenbosch University’s Drama Department, the series is made up of 7 productions that are presented either as individual performances or double bills, creating an opportunity for audiences and students to see work from both institutions under 1 ticket. There is comedy, drama and dance showcasing the talents of the new generation of theatre makers, actors and dancers. These are young people who are stepping out to become the future of theatre.
February 3rd – 5th at 7pm
Mqambi Wenyambezi Vuka – written, directed and choreographed by Lukho Noyila – is a profound exploration of the profound impact of the absent fathers on the lives of young men. The play examines themes of identity, belonging and the search for meaning in the absence of traditional father-son relationships. Tickets are R100.
Lukho Noyila’s artistic journey began at school through Magnet Theatre’s Culture Gangs. He developed his musical talents, conducting mass choirs in Cape Town and Duran. In recent years, he has collaborated with Elvis Sibeko Studios, Selective Live, Lwanda Sindaphi and Lingua Franca Poetry Company. His most recent project, Fragmented Hearts in Chaos marks his debut as a choreographer.
February 7th – 9th
Echoes of What Was is a triple bill of dance that explores the lives of people caught up in devastating tragedy and reveals the deep humanity, grief, and unbreakable spirit of those who have endured unimaginable hardship. Graduates of UCT Dance, Abdul Isaacs and Nafeesah Floris are joined by professional dancer and choreographer Yaseen Manuel.
The pieces are:
Dis-Place-Me-Not
Madha Kan,
Echoes of resilience
February 14th – 16th
Ode to Earthworms and From Here Onwards: two landscapes of memory is a double bill of physical theatre and dance.
Ode To Earthworms, directed and choreographed by Thalia Alberts and runner up at Stellenbosch University’s Premier Fest in 2024, delves into the eternal forces of death and renewal. The physical theatre production explores the natural course of a whale fall as a metaphor for all life processes and submerges its audience into an ocean of questions about the ephemeral and transient nature of all things. This performance is an apocalyptic love-letter, a fantastical assemblage, a mass extinction, a grand spectacle, a celebration, a mourning, and a glance into the enmeshment of all living things.
From Here Onwards is choreographed and directed by Otlile Lebelo from the University of Cape Town and explores the ideas of memories in chaos – how we remember, encode, store, and retrieve information – using dreams as a way to sketch rhythmic patterns, textures, and shapes. Tickets are R120.
The final double bill in the series includes The Last Supper(s) written and directed by Seth Cloete from UCT and The Fogo in Mecrura Maison created collaboratively by a team of students graduating from Stellenbosch University. This double bill performance takes place in late April.
For more information about the productions and young professionals, email caroline@theatrearts.co.za or call 082 752 1376.



, February 7-9, 2025. Bookings: https://theatrearts.co.za
Follow Theatre Arts on social media Where: Theatre Arts, Methodist Church Hall, corner Milton Road and Wesley Street, Observatory, Cape Town, 7925 Info: caroline@theatrearts.co.za Website: https://theatrearts.co.za/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheatreArtsObs/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theatrearts.obs/ X: https://mobile.twitter.com/theatreartsct Telegram Channel: https://t.me/theatreartsupcomingshows WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va8dLoTGZNCyel0MB42T TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@theatrearts.obs Theatre Arts Theatre Arts is the home of independent theatre in Cape Town and the very successful Emerging Young Theatre Directors Bursary. Built on the tenets of affordability, inclusivity and accessibility, Theatre Arts is a vibrant home for local theatre practitioners – a place where they can create work, develop skills, perform, engage in dialogue and meet and work with theatre practitioners who come from diverse backgrounds, whether cultural, social, and economic or simply in skill and experience. Described as the rehearsal space of choice, Theatre Arts is dedicated to creating the right environment for artists and theatre to flourish. In an industry which is culturally divided, dominated by a few voices and vastly under-supported financially, both through patronage and funding, Theatre Arts strives to support, enable and provide opportunity for artists to continue developing skills, creating work and generating income. Open to fresh ideas and up for experimentation based on current trends in economic thinking, Theatre Arts is an organic model and successful training ground for re-conceptualising what a theatre institution, in South Africa, can be and how it can sustain itself. For more information, visit www.theatrearts.co.za |
❇ Sponsored content. Images supplied. Featured image: From Here Onwards is choreographed and directed by Otlile Lebelo from the University of Cape Town.