PRESS: THAT BOY HAS NO SHOES set to touch hearts and spark minds

Lara van Huyssteen

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Following on from a four-star run at Camden Fringe 2024 and Voila! Theatre Festival 2024 in London, THAT BOY HAS NO SHOES comes to Cape Town with performances from 20 to 23 March 2025.

Photo by Sophie Giddens.

This Human Rights Day, THAT BOY HAS NO SHOES aims to offer remembrance to the lost South Africans who fought for our freedom.

Following on from two acclaimed runs in London at the Camden Fringe Festival 2024 and Voila! Theatre Festival 2024, THAT BOY HAS NO SHOES comes to Cape Town! This ‘moving retrospective’ offers an encounter with four South African artefacts who appear onstage to tell the audience about the horrors they witnessed under Apartheid.

An axe, an eviction notice, a passbook, and a camera become the repositories for the Apartheid struggle to tell stories of who they saw, what they did and where they were left behind. Who stood at the Battle of Andringa Street? How does a passbook remember Sharpeville? And where are the children?

Photo by Sophie Giddens.

Intermixing verbatim text with narrative storytelling, this ‘poignant production’ highlights riots, forced removals and protests that shaped the cultural and economic landscapes of democratic South Africa. The result is a ‘compelling’ and ‘powerful’ performance that promises a deep emotional impact.

Praise for the play included:

'Thought-provoking' – The Reviews Hub

‘Carefully choreographed, every movement, item and spoken word contributes to an immersive and emotional evening’ – Everything Theatre

'An excellent work of art’ - A Young(ish) Perspective

Photo by Sophie Giddens.

Created and performed by Lara van Huyssteen, you can catch this moving play at the Homecoming Centre from 20 to 23 March 2025. Tickets for THAT BOY HAS NO SHOES can be booked online through Webtickets.

Please note the production is not suitable for children under 12. It also carries a content warning: A prolonged blackout, loud noises and audio descriptions of racism, violence & death. Viewers may be disturbed by sensitive imagery.