Two time Naledi Award-nominated dance-theatre production Musical Chairs heads to Cape Town for a limited season at Magnet Theatre from 19-23 August 2026, following its Johannesburg run.
Presented by The Locksmiths Collective and Rush Productions, Musical Chairs takes the familiar childhood game, where players race to find a chair when the music stops and transforms it into a metaphor for modern life and our increasingly complicated relationship with social media.
Whether for work, leisure, connection or validation, social media has become part of everyday life. Musical Chairs explores the pressure to impress, fit in, be seen and find belonging in a world where everyone appears to be performing for an audience. Sometimes those digital connections become friendship, business opportunities and even love. Sometimes they don’t and when we close our phones, that world closes with it.
Through dance, music and physical theatre, the production places a mirror in front of its audience, exploring identity, relationships, community and the impact of our digital lives on our wellbeing.
The production combines South African street-dance styles including iPantsula and iBhujwa with American styles such as Hip Hop, Campbellocking and Popping, creating a contemporary theatrical experience rooted in both local and international movement culture.
The Johannesburg season received strong responses from audiences and critics. The late comedian Ebenhaezer Dibakwane described the production as “Somewhere between a revelation and a revolution,” while SamSays called it “An outstanding piece of original dance theatre.”
Acclaimed theatre director James Ngcobo praised the production’s accessibility, saying: “I have watched many theatre shows, many dance pieces, and this work is for everyone. An accountant, a lawyer, a teacher can walk in there and walk out with something.”
The production brings together a multidisciplinary creative team led by Genesis Shirindza, Hungani Ndlovu and Sipho Didiza. Shirindza serves as writer, choreographer, creative director, producer and cast member, while Ndlovu serves as executive producer, director and cast member. Didiza contributed to the production’s creative and movement direction, although he is not active in the 2026 Cape Town run.
The cast features Yemimah Jacobs, Jamie-Lee Jansen, Genesis Shirindza and Hungani Ndlovu, alongside international performers Alain “Hurrikane” Lauture and Angela “Angyil” McNeal.
At its heart, Musical Chairs is about the desire to be seen, chosen and connected and the uncertainty of wondering whether there will still be a place for you when the music stops.
When the music stops, will there be a chair for you?
SHOW INFORMATION
- Production: Musical Chairs
- Presented by: The Locksmiths Collective & Rush Productions
- Dates: 19–23 August 2026 (Wednesday–Sunday)
- Venue: Magnet Theatre, 1 St Michaels Road, Observatory, Cape Town, 7925
- Time: 19h30–20h30
- Tickets: R199.95
- Booking: Available via Webtickets
Musical Chairs is a contemporary dance-theatre production that uses the familiar childhood game as a metaphor for modern life. Blending South African and international street-dance styles with contemporary and physical theatre, the production explores social media, identity, relationships, belonging and the human need for connection.
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