| What: Winners announced for the 61st Cape Town Theatre Awards When: July 5, 2026 Where: Baxter, Cape Town |
The winners of the 61st Cape Town Theatre Awards were announced at an intimate, elegant ceremony at The Baxter on Sunday July 5, 2026, powered by Cape Talk. The awards were for productions staged in 2025 and which met the criteria to be nominated. It was a wonderful, emotionally charged event. Congrats to all involved – a huge round of applause for CapeTalk/Primedia for each patronage and support and its 5 year commitment to this wonderful platform which celebrates excellence in theatre. Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater, received seven awards, nabbing the Award in each of the categories for which it was nominated including Best Production. Read on for more:
Winners announced for the 61st Cape Town Theatre Awards
Formerly known as the Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards, the Awards have recognised artistic excellence in the performing arts sector for more than six decades.
Embarking on the next era of its existence, the oldest theatre awards in the country have a new name – the Cape Town Theatre Awards. A new non-profit company (NPC) has also been established for convening the Awards in the future.
“We are sincerely grateful to Distell and Heineken Beverages for enabling us to honour Cape Town creatives for 60 years,” says Africa Melane, Chair of the Cape Town Theatre Awards Panel.
“We extend a heartfelt thank you to CapeTalk for supporting the Awards. The station and Primedia Broadcasting hold the view that a thriving performing arts sector is essential to a cosmopolitan city like Cape Town, and this resonates with us. The support enables us to navigate the evolution of the Awards going forward.”
“With the wealth of outstanding talent we have in the Western Cape – an incredible 65 productions were eligible for consideration in 2025 – competition was stiff. We salute our theatre makers and encourage them to keep pushing the boundaries and overcoming obstacles to continue creating their work. We congratulate all the nominees and winners,” says Melane.
“We also extend a heartfelt thank you to Boschendal who came on board as a partner this year,” he says.
The eligible productions included seven operas, three children’s productions (two musicals and one opera), 24 student productions and 55 other main productions, five of which were musicals.
The 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Nigel Vermaas, who was recognised for his immense contribution to the performing arts and broadcasting as an actor, director, and writer for stage and radio dramas. Vermaas is also a documentary maker and host of an arts and jazz radio show, all this with his instinctive and dramatic flair.
The 2025 recipient of the Innovation in Theatre Award was the Shakespeare Schools Festival South Africa (SSFSA), which celebrates its 16th year in 2026. The SSFSA is a vital platform that empowers scholars who may be intimidated and unfamiliar with Shakespeare’s work to reinterpret classic works with originality and relevance. By transforming full-length plays into dynamic short productions, they make Shakespeare accessible, engaging and meaningful for themselves and their audiences.
Winner of Best Production was the one-woman show Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater, which garnered a total of seven awards, taking the Award in each of the categories for which it was nominated: Best New South African Script; Best Performance in a Revue, Cabaret or One-Person Show; Best Lighting and Best Set Design; Best Sound Design, Original Music, Soundscape or Live Performance; Best Director and Best Production.
Hit musical Cats won three awards for Best Performance by an Ensemble, Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical and Best Costume Design, while popular favourite Chicago walked away with Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Musical and Best Actor in a Musical.
Cape Town Opera’s production of Bluebeard’s Castle won awards in both the Male and Female categories of Best Performance in an Opera, while Speelgoed van Glas / The Glass Menagerie also won two awards in the Best Supporting Actress in a Play and Best Lead Actor in a Play.
The full list of winners of the 61st Cape Town Theatre Awards are:
- AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING STUDENT
Scarlett Pay | LAMTA
- BEST NEW SOUTH AFRICAN SCRIPT
Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater | Neil Coppen & Mpume Mthombeni
- BEST NEW DIRECTOR
Samuel Jumat | ’n Pandok se Liefde
- BEST THEATRE PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE
Moana Jr – Sonwa Sakuba Institute for the Performing Arts (SSIPA)
- BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE
Cats | Austin Tshikosi, Brittane van Loggerenberg, Cassiel Eatock-Winnik, Cleto van Rooi, Darren Rockman, Hannah Marshall, Harry Smallman, Jackie Lulu, Marco Titus, Michael Fullard, Morgan Marshall, Noa Duckitt, Phoebe Charles, Ryan Flynn, Scarlett Pay, Sibusiso Mxosana, Sipesihle Ngamlana, Stephan Van Der Walt, Tania Mteto, Tannah Levick, Tatum Coleman, Zoë Mclaughlin
- BEST PERFORMANCE IN A REVUE, CABARET OR ONE-PERSON SHOW
Mpume Mthombeni | Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater
- BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR MUSIC THEATRE SHOW
Carlo Daniels | Randall Simons | Colleen The Musical
- BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR MUSIC THEATRE SHOW
Tankiso Mamabolo | Matron Mama Morton | Chicago
- BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR MUSIC THEATRE SHOW
Jonathan Roxmouth | Billy Flynn | Chicago
- BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR MUSIC THEATRE SHOW
Cindy Ann Abrahams | Grizabella | Cats
- BEST PUPPETRY DESIGN
Adrian Kohler and William Kentridge | Faustus in Africa!
- BEST LIGHTING DESIGN
Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater | Tina Le Roux
- BEST SET DESIGN
Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater | Greg King
- BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Cats | John Napier
- BEST SOUND DESIGN, ORIGINAL MUSIC, SOUNDSCAPE OR LIVE PERFORMANCE
Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater | Tristan Horton
- BEST PERFORMANCE IN AN OPERA – MALE
William Berger | Bluebeard | Bluebeard’s Castle
- BEST PERFORMANCE IN AN OPERA – FEMALE
Siphamandla Moyake | Judith | Bluebeard’s Castle
- BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY
Albert Pretorius | Caliban | The Tempest
- BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Carla Smith | Laura | Speelgoed van Glas | The Glass Menagerie
- BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEAD ACTRESS IN A PLAY
Rolanda Marais | Hedda | Hedda Gabler
- BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEAD ACTOR IN A PLAY
Ben Albertyn | Tom | Speelgoed van Glas | The Glass Menagerie
- BEST DIRECTOR
Neil Coppen | Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater
- BEST PRODUCTION
Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater | Empatheatre in association with The Baxter Theatre Centre and the National Arts Festival
AWARD FOR INNOVATION IN THEATRE
Shakespeare Schools Festival South Africa
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Nigel Vermaas
The panel for the 2025 year was: Africa Melane (Chair), Dr Beverley Brommert, Hadley Tituss, Naude van der Merwe, Nkgopoleng Moloi, Roxy MarosaSive Gubangxa, Thabo K Makgolo,Tracey Saunders and Dr Wayne Muller.
The 2025 Cape Town Theatre Awards were audited by The Finance Man and Cluver Markotter Attorneys.
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AWARD FOR INNOVATION IN THEATRE
Presented to Shakespeare Schools Festival South Africa for the vital and empowering platform they provide scholars who may be intimidated and unfamiliar with Shakespeare’s work to reinterpret these classic works with originality and relevance.
By transforming full-length plays into dynamic short productions, they make Shakespeare accessible, engaging, and meaningful for themselves and their audiences. The festival nurtures creativity, confidence, and collaboration, while promoting inclusivity and diverse storytelling. Performing in a professional theatre elevates their experience and connects communities.
Beyond performance, the programme offers mentorship and training which build lifelong transferable skills. Ultimately, the festival sustains an appreciation of theatre by allowing new generations to own, reshape, and revitalize Shakespeare’s enduring stories through bold, authentic youth-driven expression that inspires audiences and society.
The Shakespeare Schools Festival South Africa celebrates its 16th year in 2026.
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Presented to Nigel Vermaas for his immense contribution to the performing arts and broadcasting as an actor, director, and writer for stage and radio dramas, as well as a documentary maker and host of an arts and jazz radio show, all this with an instinctive and dramatic flair.
Among his notable achievements are adaptations for radio of masterpieces such as ‘Hamlet’, ‘Death of a Salesman’, and various works by Athol Fugard. In addition, he has serialised André Brink’s novel ‘Imaginings of Sand’ for radio, and most recently, for live theatre, directed Jonny Blundell’s ‘Sin and Salvation’ with distinction. He has reviewed theatre for radio for over two decades.
From 1997, he specialised in jazz features and documentaries on South African music for SAfm. He has reviewed theatre for radio for over two decades. In 2005 heproject-managed Bush Radio’s 12-week African Radio Drama season. For SAfm he adapted and directed Niq Mhlongo’s novel, AFTER TEARS. In 2007 he dramatised a serialised radio version of Zoë Wicomb’s novel, PLAYING IN THE LIGHT, for SAfm.
We celebrate him for decades of work, where he helped South Africans enjoy the theatre of the mind. We honour him for his fastidious manner in ensuring wonderful theatre is enjoyed widely through the medium of radio. And we express our admiration for his artistry and years of dedication.
The Cape Town Theatre Awards
Founded by the United Tobacco Company in 1965, who sponsored the awards until 1977, the awards have always celebrated excellence. When the Oude Meester Foundation for the Performing Arts took over the sponsorship in 1978, the awards were renamed the Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards. Since the merger of the Distillers Corporation in 2000, the foundation was renamed and Distell Arts and Culture continued sponsoring the awards and several other creative organisations. After Heineken’s acquisition of Distell in 2023, that support continued until last year.
From 2025,a newly established NPC was established to sustain the platform that recognises and celebrates excellence in the performing arts. Now known as the Cape Town Theatre Awards NPC, the main stakeholder reflected in the name of the awards. As this new chapter evolves, the panel will be exploring how the awards can implement initiatives that support theatre practitioners throughout the year.
❇ Featured image: Winners 61st Cape Town Theatre Awards, July 5, 2026, Baxter Theatre, Cape Town. Photo: Jeffrey Abrahams. Sponsored feature
❇ Related coverage – nominations for 61st Cape Town Theatre Awards on TheCapeRobyn: https://thecaperobyn.co.za/stage-new-era-for-theatre-awards-in-cape-town/
