Review by Diane de Beer
Pictures: Ngoma Mphahlele
AFROPOCALYPSE
DIRECTOR: Daniel Buckland
CAST: Market Theatre Laboratory 2nd Year Students
DATES: Until May 23
VENUE: Mannie Manim Theatre at the Joburg Market
It bubbles and bristles with energy, enthusiasm and excitement in this return season of a play which started as a student production in 2024 and returned in 2025 to the National Arts Festival, where it won a Golden Ovation Award, as well as a Naledi for Best Ensemble.
This current season is the forerunner of a showcase at a Swedish Festival, where it is one of four international productions selected from 600 applicants. And rightly so.
I was surprised when leaving the show that it had only been 60 minutes long. It felt much longer, in the best possible sense, and grabs your attention from start to finish. It was packed with adventure and a cast of 14 who never let up as they leapt into this glorious yet often gruesome adventure of the human condition in a world out of kilter.
How would theatre react to a world unhinged, as is presently at play? Through storytelling, of course, and taking this one to a European audience is the perfect choice.
Think of this country’s past and, in the present turmoil, one can only smile. We are sailing along quite nicely, apart from the constant syphoning off of state money, in this instance from the art coffers, which could benefit so many rather than just a few unworthy recipients.
Nevertheless, taking four constant bogeymen in a world that feels overwhelmingly disastrous and desperate: greed, mortality, religion and unconditional love – this outrageous yet wildly entertaining ragtag group use physical theatre and magic realism to uncover and explore what is happening around them and especially out there.
The fact that this comes from a country that not too long ago was viewed as one of the worst in the world, in itself brings hope.
With Buckland’s theatre-making ideal for this tawdry yet dynamic storytelling, it’s a joy to watch with the cast performing magnificently. It’s a compelling piece, told in an original fashion with a story that reaches young and old.
This is what the Market Theatre Laboratory does best. Described as “an incubator for the development of skilled theatre-makers while also producing bold, cutting-edge work”, that is exactly what is represented here.
That is why the way this specific piece has been transformed from its first performances to where it stands now is spectacular and a wonderful testament to what can be achieved in theatre with the right people and plans in place.
None of these 14 players has ever performed internationally and with this one, they are a testament to how theatre can evolve from small beginnings into something special.
Local audiences who see the piece will also be contributing towards the tour, and the cast are given every chance to land on the international stage in the best shape possible. What could be a better advertisement for local theatre, especially in a country like Sweden, which has contributed hugely to The Market and its pursuit of world-class theatre?
But don’t think you will be doing something charitable when going to experience this remarkable play, audiences are the ones that are rewarded.
In essence, the power lies in the originality of the text, the exuberant application and the perfection of the cast.
De Beer Necessities 