PRESS: MASTER HAROLD... AND THE BOYS heads to Cape Town

Collett Dawson

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Following a critically praised Johannesburg season, Athol Fugard’s seminal drama MASTER HAROLD... AND THE BOYS heads to Cape Town for a strictly limited season at Artscape Theatre's Arena Theatre from 9 to 18 April 2026.

Photo by  Philip Kuhn.

MASTER HAROLD... AND THE BOYS is proudly presented by the Sello Maake KaNcube Foundation, Daphne Kuhn and Artscape, in collaboration with Idwalalethu Foundation, by arrangement with DALRO (Pty) Limited.

Directed by Warona Seane, with set and lighting design by Wilhelm Disbergen, this production brings one of South Africa’s most important theatrical works back to the stage with renewed urgency.

A Story That Still Confronts Us

Set in a tearoom in apartheid-era South Africa, MASTER HAROLD... AND THE BOYS examines race, pride and power through the complex bond between a white teenager and the two Black men who have helped raise him. What unfolds is intimate, volatile and devastating — revealing how systemic injustice infiltrates even the closest human relationships.

Decades after its debut, Fugard’s play remains piercingly relevant, inviting audiences to reflect on dignity, reconciliation and the unfinished conversations of South Africa’s past and present.

A Personal and Generational Return

For Maake KaNcube, this staging carries deep personal resonance.

“The last time I performed in Cape Town was in 1994 at the Dock Road Theatre in the final production directed by the late Barney Simon,” he reflects. “This production honours both Zakes Mokae, one of my foremost predecessors, and Athol Fugard, whose early trilogy — The Island, Sizwe Banzi Is Dead, and Statements After an Immorality Act — first ignited the teenage actor in me.”

Stepping into a role originally performed by the legendary Mokae, Maake KaNcube bridges generations of South African theatre history through a performance grounded in legacy and lived experience.

Photo by  Philip Kuhn.

An Intimate Creative Force

He is joined by Daniel Anderson and Lebohang Motaung, forming a tightly woven ensemble under Seane’s direction. Disbergen’s atmospheric design situates the audience inside a world thick with memory and tension, allowing Fugard’s language to resonate with clarity and force.

More than a revival, this limited Artscape season positions the play as a living conversation — one that Cape Town, long intertwined with Fugard’s life and work, is uniquely placed to host.

Only ten days of performances at the Artscape Theatre's Arena Theatre from 9 to 18 April 2026. Book now through Webtickets to avoid disappointment. MASTER HAROLD... AND THE BOYS runs for 90 minutes with no interval and carries a suggested age restriction of 13. Performances are Tuesdays to Fridays at 19h00, Saturdays at 15h30 & 19h00. Ticket prices range from R200 (Scholars, Students & Senior Citizens) to R250 (Adults).