Afropocalypse to set Market Theatre audiences ablaze

The multi-award-winning ensemble from The Market Theatre Laboratory is geared up for a return season of Afropocalypse at The Market Theatre.

This comes after the ensemble set the stage on fire with energetic performances in 2025, marking their professional debut.

Set to run from 7 to 23 May 2026 in the Mannie Manim Theatre, the play promises renewed energy and exciting storytelling for audiences of all ages.

The electric and imaginative production follows the journey of a group of storytellers in an apocalyptic setting as they share their fables of hope and resilience.

In 2026, Afropocalypse scored six Naledi Theatre Awards nominations, winning Best Ensemble.

At the 2025 National Arts Festival in Makhanda, the production won the festival’s highest Fringe accolade: the Standard Bank Gold Ovation Award.

Cherae Halley, Head of The Market Theatre Laboratory, said that Afropocalypse being one of only four international productions selected for this year’s festival from nearly 600 applications marks a significant milestone, reflecting both the production’s excellence and that of the institution behind it.

“The Market Theatre Laboratory continues to build its reputation as a leading incubator for the development of skilled theatre-makers, while also producing bold, cutting-edge work. This international recognition is a testament to our brand and legacy. For most of the cast, which is made up of 14 graduates from The Lab’s full-time two-year programme, this marks their first international debut, and I could not be more thrilled for this ensemble,” Halley remarks.

Directed by Daniel Buckland, Afropocalypse was originally produced by The Market Theatre Laboratory as their student production in 2024, and has now grown into an award-winning professional production.

The Market Theatre said the “brilliantly entertaining work uses physical comedy and tragic magic realism to paint a vivid and vibrant picture of the past, present and speculative future.

“The stories they tell are inspired by a myriad of South African voices, from Credo Mutwa to Jan Rabie, to our shared collection of modern South African myths and fables, all interwoven in a comical tapestry of catastrophe and release.”

“This is a mischievous and vibrant look at South African society through the lens of all the weird and wonderful ways it could come to an end. The show uses dynamic and joyous ensemble storytelling, with bucketloads of physical comedy, puppetry and storytelling, to paint a vivid picture of the fallibility of humankind, as well as the resilience and creativity of the human spirit,” said Buckland.

He added that the story leans into joy and tragedy. 

This information was supplied by themarkettheatre.co.za.

Tickets for the show can be purchased at  www.webtickets.co.za for between R110 - R220 per person.