The Market Theatre Laboratory has partnered with Ons Kom Productions to gather the talented people who have graduated from The Laboratory for a three-day inaugural Lab Alumni Festival, taking place from the 21 – 23 August 2026 in the Ramolao Makhene Theatre. The festival is aimed at celebrating the legacy of The Market Theatre Laboratory and the generations of artists it has produced.
Throughout the three unmissable days, the festival will showcase productions from alumni who have graduated as far back as 2001, and as recent as 2023. Again, audiences can expect to view films independently created by Alumni, creative panels and eight productions, some which have had over a decade of audiences and some that are still new to our Ramolao stage.
The 2026 festival is curated by Lab alumnus Jaden Mokwa Oratile Mosadi, who approached The Market Lab with the idea of calling Alumni back home and developing the people’s gathering—Kopano Ya Batho.
Cherae Halley, Head of The Market Theatre Laboratory, says they hope this annual festival begins to strengthen Alumni relations and remind all graduates of the network among them for further opportunity and celebration. “The Market Lab continues to be a space for young and independent artists to showcase their new explorations and works-in-progress. This Alumni Festival will create space for its alumni to be celebrated and to stage their work at home; at the very training institution that inspired their creative genius.”
Curator Jaden Mosadi says, “We co-created this festival to acknowledge our alumni who went out and made beautiful work. This is more than a celebration, but an evaluation of the quality we uphold in the industry as The Market Laboratory.”
The festival has already kicked off with pre-festival workshops that have been hosted by Alumni and friends of The Market Lab.
Don’t miss this packed weekend, with works that provoke, entertain and display the heart of South Africa’s storytelling.
Festival Line-up:
Friday, 21 August
17h00: Mshovara by Thabiso T Rammala & Darlington Makhobozi. Directed by Thabiso T Rammala.
19h00: Circle by Tau Maserumule. Directed by Dambua Nqumashe.
Saturday, 22 August
13h00: Lekgora Leng by Katlego Jack Moloi. Directed by Aalliyah Zama Matintela.
15h00: Imfihlo by Sifiso Zimba. Directed by Sam Sparara Modieginyana.
17h00: The Thing Between Us by Thabang Chauke & Tumelo Namtweya-Phiri. Directed by Thuli Nqcaweni. Dramaturge by Aalliyah Zama Matintela.
19h00: Ideas Cannot Be Bombed by Lawrence Simelane. Choreographed by The Blaq Spider Pantsula.
Sunday, 23 August
14h00: Mind the Scarf by Mirriam Mayet. Directed by Mirriam Mayet in Collaboration with Zikka Zimba Productions.
16h00: Gauteng (For Ebenezer) by Melusi Molefe & Qondiswa James. Directed by Qondiswa James & Melusi Molefe.
Tickets for each show are out on Webtickets selling for R100 and R80 student/pensioner discount.
Safe, secure and affordable underground parking available at Newtown Junction.
ENDS
The Market Theatre Laboratory is a division of The Market Theatre Foundation, an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture.
For media enquiries, please contact Bongiwe Potelwa (Publicist at The Market Theatre Foundation) at bongiwep@marketheatre.co.za or (011) 832 1641.
For reduced price block bookings (of 10 or more) and school groups, contact Anthony Ezeoke at AnthonyE@markettheatre.co.za and 083 246 4950, or Khanyisa Titus at khanyisat@markettheatre.co.za and 065 955 7182.
Throughout his 25 years of excellent service at The Market Theatre Foundation, Floyd Dlamini has been climbing the ladder – sometimes literally – to becoming one of the institution’s living libraries in its 50th birthyear.
The Market Theatre Foundation returns to the National Arts Festival in Makhanda with two compelling productions – The Cry of Winnie Mandela and Children of the Buffalo Thorn Tree – that interrogate memory, power dynamics, how history is remembered and which voices are heard. Presented as the country marks the 50th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, both works grapple with the ongoing work of transformation, the power of representation and the place black women and young people have in history.
