THEATRE PROGRAMME

The award-winning Opera UCT, headed by the world-renowned conductor Jeremy Silver, will present a series of arias tailored to the HEAT Festival's Other Worlding theme. The supremely talented singers in this company will blow audiences away with their operatic talent.

Dreams and Desires invites us into a world where yearning meets imagination, where the boundaries between hope and reality blur. Through music that navigates night-long longing, restless ambition, and the search for belonging, the concert explores the emotional landscapes we often dare only to dream.

Confused Mhlaba is a play by Khayalethu Mqayisa, first staged in 1974, during the height of apartheid in South Africa. . The title, meaning ‘confused world,’ mirrors the characters' turmoil as they navigate their personal and political roles within a racially divided society. The play reflects a time when the black South African community faced immense pressure, balancing their desires for self-preservation with the collective call for resistance. Though initially perceived as advocating political moderation Confused Mhlaba boldly critiques the oppressive apartheid regime. It takes a firm stance against racial injustice, portraying the internal conflicts of characters as symbolic of the broader societal struggle for liberation.

Confused Mhlaba is a play by Khayalethu Mqayisa, first staged in 1974, during the height of apartheid in South Africa. . The title, meaning ‘confused world,’ mirrors the characters' turmoil as they navigate their personal and political roles within a racially divided society. The play reflects a time when the black South African community faced immense pressure, balancing their desires for self-preservation with the collective call for resistance. Though initially perceived as advocating political moderation Confused Mhlaba boldly critiques the oppressive apartheid regime. It takes a firm stance against racial injustice, portraying the internal conflicts of characters as symbolic of the broader societal struggle for liberation.

The Zoo Story is a powerful and provocative play written by renowned American playwright Edward Albee. This intense, thought-provoking drama delves deep into themes of isolation, communication, and the complexities of human interaction. Set in New York City’s Central Park, the story unfolds as two strangers, Peter and Jerry, engage in a seemingly innocent conversation that quickly spirals into something significantly more complex. 

Albee's exploration of societal disconnect and the human condition is as relevant today as it was when the play first debuted in 1958.

Symbiosis/\Dysbiosis is a digital/live hybrid work, which live streams a performance in a metaverse peopled by characters in the room and in other parts of the world. It is a psychedelic immersive theatre adventure. This shared experience serves as a powerful reminder that our future depends on our ability to recognise and connect with the more-than-human world. Audience members and fungal Mycelium can interact within a virtual old-growth forest as the living Mycelium responds to players by triggering haptics, visual effects, and sound. Live actors embody forest guides, who request help and guide the players to locate the enigmatic Golden Spore towards entering the Mycelium Network to find the Mycelia Entity.

Don't believe A Word I Say is a quirky, heartwarming, comedic, biographical one-woman play, set between the present day and a 7th-grade dance the protagonist attended.

The play is delivered in a series of comedic stories as the protagonist weaves through childhood memories and the characters she encountered growing up. She brings her inner child to the forefront and together they process, reminisce and come to terms with life. The play interrogates the idea of memory as a fickle, subjective and mouldable window into our psychology.

Afrofuturies invites us to reimagine tomorrow by excavating the silences of our past—the lost rituals, ancestral wisdoms, and untold stories that lie beyond official archives. This panel will explore how creative practitioners harness speculative frameworks to reclaim these cultural mores, weaving them into narratives that speak to our present realities and shape more resilient futures.

A gathering of some of Cape Town's funniest standup comedians curated by Comedy in Commons.  Robby Collins is headlining and  Simmi Areff is hosting a lineup that includes;

Yaaseen Barnes
Céline Tshika (picutured)
Chuma Bentele
SQ Mangcu
Jaryd Pillay

The Zoo Story is a powerful and provocative play written by renowned American playwright Edward Albee. This intense, thought-provoking drama delves deep into themes of isolation, communication, and the complexities of human interaction. Set in New York City’s Central Park, the story unfolds as two strangers, Peter and Jerry, engage in a seemingly innocent conversation that quickly spirals into something significantly more complex. 

Albee's exploration of societal disconnect and the human condition is as relevant today as it was when the play first debuted in 1958.

Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons, the critically acclaimed rom-com by Sam Steiner, made its South African debut in Cape Town in 2024. This tender and thought-provoking production explores the power of language, restraint, and human connection in a world where words are limited.

In a world where spoken language is restricted to a set number of words, the choices we make about what we say—or withhold—take on profound meaning. Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons follows Oliver and Bernadette, two people grappling with the limits of communication and the impact it has on their relationship. Hilarious yet poignant, the play explores what happens when we can no longer speak freely and how humans continue to communicate through actions, body language, and the spaces between words.