As part of The Market Theatre’s 50th anniversary celebrations, Arts Alive Joburg joined in honouring an institution that has spent five decades giving South African stories, artists and ideas a stage from which to challenge, reflect and shape society. Among the works featured during the celebration was the iconic Woza Albert!, brought to life by Hamilton Dhlamini and Thulani Mtsweni. With two performers embodying a remarkable range of characters, the production demonstrated the power of performance stripped to its essentials: voice, movement, imagination and storytelling. Created by Percy Mtwa, Mbongeni Ngema and Barney Simon, Woza Albert! emerged from The Market Theatre in 1981 and became one of South Africa’s landmark works of protest theatre. Its premise is as bold as it is enduring: what if Morena, Jesus Christ, arrived in apartheid South Africa? Through satire, humour and political commentary, the story confronts racial oppression, poverty, inequality and the machinery of apartheid while centring the experiences, resilience and humanity of ordinary Black South Africans. Seeing this important work form part of the 50th anniversary celebration was a powerful reminder of The Market Theatre’s place in South Africa’s cultural history. This is a theatre that did not simply entertain audiences. It created space for artists to speak when speaking carried consequences, and helped build a body of work that continues to document who we were, interrogate who we are and influence the generations coming after us. For Arts Alive Joburg, supporting this milestone is part of a broader commitment to strengthening Johannesburg’s cultural ecosystem, connecting audiences with significant South African work and ensuring that the institutions and artists responsible for our cultural memory remain visible and celebrated. 50 years of The Market Theatre. One extraordinary Johannesburg cultural legacy. And stories like Woza Albert! that remind us why the stage has always mattered. #ArtsAliveJoburg #ArtsAlive2026 #MarketTheatre50 #WozaAlbert #JoburgCulture - @artsalivejoburg