Workshops for Cape Town teachers at MEMOs in December

The countdown has begun to the New Encounters conference from 11-14 December, convened by Dr. Hassana Moosa of the Medieval and Early Modern Orients (MEMOs) collective, and co-hosted by the Department of English Literary Studies at the University of Cape Town and the Shakespeare Society of Southern Africa. Along with a full programme of talks, panels and a series of other events, the conference will include two exciting workshops aimed at high school educators.

On Saturday 13 December, there will be a fabulous interactive session with Lauren Bates from Educasions, demonstrating the mixed reality video game Play the Knave as a fun tool that enriches learners’ understanding of Shakespeare through performance.

Venue: Arts Block, UCT upper campus

Time: 10:00-12:00

On Sunday 14 December, an informal ‘Breakfast and Brainstorm’ session will introduce teachers to new resources that can support the teaching of Shakespeare in South African schools, with an emphasis on inclusive histories.

Venue: Islamia College (Imam Haron Road, Lansdowne)

Time: 10:00-12:30

 

In addition, each session of the New Encounters conference will be of interest to anyone curious to explore global history before and during the ‘Renaissance’. More information and the full programme are available here.

The events are free, but registration is essential for catering purposes.

Cast announced for Twelfth Night (Maynardville 2026)

In February and March next year, the Maynardville Open-Air Festival in Cape Town will feature Twelfth Night directed by Steven Stead. It has been billed as “an al fresco production, set to a sultry jazz soundtrack that echoes the sophisticated sounds of 1960s Rome ... couture costumes, Sofia Loren-style, infused with the decadent glamour of Fellini’s La Dolce Vita”.

Now the production’s cast has been revealed:

“When Viola (Emily Child) washes ashore and disguises herself as a man, she quickly finds herself entangled in the affections of the lovesick Orsino (Jock Kleynhans) and the formidable Olivia (Jenny Stead). Add to this mix the pompous Malvolio (Graham Hopkins), the quick-witted clown Feste (David Viviers), and a pair of drunken schemers, Sir Toby Belch (Michael Richard) and Sir Andrew Aguecheek (Aidan Scott), and you have all the ingredients for Shakespeare’s most deliciously chaotic comedy.”

Other cast members are: Natasha Sutherland (Maria), Ntlanhla Morgan Kutu (Antonio), William Young (Sebastian), Lungile Lallie (Fabian/Valentine) and Paul Savage (Sea Captain).

Set design: Greg King

Costume design: Maritha Visagie

Composer / Music director: Wessel Odendaal

Lighting design: Oliver Hauser

Sound design: David Klaasen

Book tickets via Quicket!

Call for Papers: "Journeys – Borders – Encounters" (SASMARS 2026)

The Southern African Society for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (SASMARS) is pleased to announce that the 27th Biennial International SASMARS Conference will be held from 3 to 6 September 2026 at the Mont Fleur Conference Venue in Stellenbosch. Papers for this interdisciplinary conference may cover any period within the Middle Ages and Renaissance, in any geographical space, and deal with any area of interest or discipline that could be relevant to the topic “Journeys – Borders – Encounters”.

Ideas to consider could include, but need not be limited to:

  • Travel and migration

  • Spiritual journeys and pilgrimage

  • Trade routes, trade, and trade goods

  • Encounters between cultures, peoples, religions, and the like

  • Physical or metaphorical boundaries

  • Maps and map-making

  • Environments and ecology

  • Medicine and medical knowledge exchange

  • Intellectual and textual encounters and exchanges

  • War and campaigning

Proposals should consist of a title and abstract of up to 250 words, as well as the author’s name, affiliation, contact details, and a brief biography of no more than 100 words. Papers should be no longer than 20 minutes when read (approximately 2 500 words) and will be followed by Q & A.

Please submit proposals by email to Carin Marais by 31 December 2025.

The keynote speaker for the 2026 conference will be Professor Jordi Sánchez-Martí of the University of Alicante, Spain.

Sánchez-Martí is a professor in English Literature and a Partner Principal Investigator on Re-mediating the Early Book: Pasts and Futures (REBPAF). He has a particular interest in Middle English romances and their transmission, as well as Iberian books of chivalry in English translation and their circulation. He has received an H.P. Kraus Fellowship from the Beinecke Library (Yale), a Katharine F. Pantzer Fellowship in Descriptive Bibliography from Houghton Library (Harvard), and a Philip A. Knachel Fellowship from the Folger Shakespeare Library. He has been a Visiting Research Fellow at the Institut für Buchwissenschaft, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and a Visiting College Research Associate at Wolfson College (Cambridge).

SWAN SONG and THE HOLLOW CROWN this month

Look out for these two “Shakespeare-ish” productions in August

Buhle Ngaba in Swan Song (image: Neo Baepi)

Johannesburg’s POPArt Theatre has announced that Buhle Ngaba’s one-woman play, Swan Song, will run from 20-24 August. The show, first developed during Ngaba’s residency (through the Brett Goldin Bursary) with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2018, draws on Shakespearean points of reference along with the famous swans of the Avon river.

In Swan Song, multiple award winner Ngaba invites audiences into a visceral coming-of-age journey. Inspired by the ancient belief that swans sing only once – at the moment of their death – the play follows a young Tswana woman in Johannesburg, born with a winged scapula. The production is brought vividly to life within the confines of a tiny flat through the evocative direction of Ilana Cilliers.

Tickets can be purchased here.

Marcel Meyer, Graham Hopkins, Fiona Ramsay and Matthew Baldwin

Meanwhile, audiences attending the Hilton Arts Festival in KwaZulu-Natal will be the first to see another innovative piece of Shakespeareana from Abrahamse-Meyer Productions. The team at AMP staged their international premier of II – a fusion of Shakespeare’s Richard II and Marlowe’s Edward II – at the Verona Shakespeare Festival in July. Now, they are bringing their version of John Barton’s celebrated compilation The Hollow Crown (first performed by the RSC in 1961) to Hilton from 8-10 August.

Directed by Fred Abrahamse and starring Fiona Ramsay, Graham Hopkins, Marcel Meyer and Matthew Baldwin, the production is described as “a rich tapestry of speeches, letters and literature from Shakespeare to Jane Austen”. Abrahamse writes: “The Hollow Crown is a refined and riveting recital that breathes life into the foibles and follies of British monarchs, blending history with wit, drama, and elegance ... It strikes a masterful balance between satire and gravitas: Game of Thrones, Bridgerton, and The Crown rolled into one unforgettable afternoon.”

Buy tickets here.

Shakespeare Birthday Lecture 2025 - now online

The Makhanda Branch of the Shakespeare Society of Southern Africa hosts an annual Shakespeare Birthday Lecture. This year’s lecture, given by Andrew Renard at St Andrew’s College on 23 April, is now available via the #lockdownshakespeare YouTube channel.

In his talk, Renard - a teacher of many years’ experience - explores changing attitudes towards Shakespeare at schools and universities. Reflecting on the limitations that may be imposed by contemporary scholarly approaches to Shakespeare’s plays, as well as on his recent work with learners in an inclusive Montessori school environment, Renard considers how Shakespeare will survive “beyond academia”.