The Market Theatre is set to mark the 10th Anniversary of #FeesMustFall with two bold productions: “The Fall” and “The Good White”. The plays will individually explore this watershed period in post-apartheid student activism from different perspectives.
Throughout their runs, starting from 9 April 2025, audiences will be guided down the past decade to the first #RhodesMustFall protest at the University of Cape Town (UCT) that sparked similar protests against colonial monuments on campuses nationwide, ultimately dovetailing with the #FeesMustFall movement that called for free, quality and decolonised education.
The staging of these plays brings the achievements of the Fallist movement under examination, as thousands of disadvantaged students still struggle to afford the rising – instead of falling – fees of higher learning, including the costs of accommodation, transport and food.
THE FALL
Starting 9 April 2025
The Market Theatre has partnered with TheatreDuo & Co for a season of “The Fall”, an award-winning collaborative protest theatre piece originally written by post-grad Drama majors at the University of Cape Town and first produced by The Baxter Theatre Centre. The original production went on to enjoy multiple outings in Europe and the USA, receiving commercial and critical acclaim as it sold out venues and earned raving reviews from leading publications such as The New York Times. After its premiere in 2016 at The Baxter Theatre in Cape Town, “The Fall” went to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017, and later toured to London in the UK, as well as New York and Washington D.C in the U.S.
Now in its re-imagined instalment, “The Fall” comes to The Market Theatre with a fresh new take, co-directed by the award-winning Mahlatsi Mokgonyana and Billy Langa, in collaboration with Ernest “Ginger” Baleni in movement direction.
This searing and insightful play recounts the experiences of #RhodesMustFall activists who called for the removal of the towering statue of British imperialist, Cecil John Rhodes, from the University of Cape Town. It further examines the crosscutting roles that race, class, gender, sexism, colonialism and the ideologies of patriarchy play in the perpetuation of discrimination.
THE GOOD WHITE
Starting 4 May 2025
A curatorial companion to “The Fall” is playwright Mike van Graan’s new work, “The Good White”. It is directed by multi-award-winning writer and director, Greg Homann, who is also The Market Theatre Foundation’s Artistic Director.
This explosive new play aims to interrogate South Africa’s non-racial project using #FeesMustFall as a context. It presents a scathing critique, making a compelling call to reflection on nation-building, national unity and non-racialism. All this is brilliantly delivered with a power and theatricality that makes for an unforgettable experience.
It’s 2016 – Jacob Zuma is in power, corruption is rife, and the “born-free” generation is taking to the streets as the #FeesMustFall movement demands change. Four characters, played by an outstanding cast (Russel Savadier, Renate Stuurman, Vusi Kunene and Shonisani Masutha), are forced to confront their beliefs, their identities, and the choices that define them. As ideals are tested, their journey reflects a nation grappling with its past and future.
Highlighting the historical importance of the Fallist movement and its contribution to reshaping post-struggle student politics, The Market Theatre Foundation’s Artistic Director, Greg Homann, explains that the objective of these two intersecting plays is to show the complexities of race and transformation, following witty, relatable and complicated characters that reflect the realities of those who were involved in, and impacted by, #FeesMustFall. Homann further states that these creative explorations underscore the historical function of The Market Theatre, reaffirming its global recognition as a space for protest theatre in its nearly 50 years of existence.
“As we gear up for our 50th Anniversary milestone in 2026, we continue to fulfil our historical role of being a vibrant space for staging entertaining and compelling protest theatre, and showcasing creative explorations that confront injustice and give a voice to the under-represented. The Fallist movement, much like the 1976 student uprisings in whose wake The Market Theatre was formed, played a crucial role in conscientising us to the hardships of young people in post-struggle South Africa. These two complementary productions are therefore an invitation to a multilayered, nuanced and necessary conversation about access to, and success in, institutions of higher learning for the disadvantaged.”
Catch “The Fall” from 9 April 2025 and “The Good White” from 8 May 2025 at The Market Theatre. Tickets available on Webtickets, with all Wednesdays at half-price and special discounts for preview performances and when tickets are bought for groups of four or more.
ENDS.
The Market Theatre is a Division of The Market Theatre Foundation, an agency of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.
For enquiries, please contact Bongiwe Potelwa (Publicist at the Market Theatre Foundation) at bongiwep@markettheatre.co.za or (011) 832 1641.
For reduced price block bookings (of 10 or more) and school groups, contact Anthony Ezeoke (Audience Development) at AnthonyE@markettheatre.co.za or 083 246 4950.