“Marabi” returns to The Market Theatre to open landmark 50th anniversary year

The cast of "Marabi", Gabisile Tshabalala (as Martha) and Katleho Moloi (as Ginger George). Photo: Ngoma ka Mphahlele.

South Africa’s iconic musical theatre production Marabi has returned to The Market Theatre in a powerful revival that launches the venue’s year-long 50th anniversary celebrations. Anchored by an all-star cast, the production reclaims its place as one of the country’s most important theatrical works, blending searing social commentary with rich musical expression.

Set in the harsh Doornfontein yards of the 1930s, Marabi follows the lives of an ordinary family of first-generation black migrants to Johannesburg, uprooted from a stable rural existence and thrust into the uncertainty of city life. Bound together by an evocative musical score, the play meditates on love and loss, while showing how music and memory act as a bridge between the past and the present.

Adapted from Modikwe Dikobe’s seminal novel Marabi Dance, the story unfolds through the eyes of July Mabongo, a man torn between ancestral obligation and the daily struggle to survive in an unforgiving urban environment. His inner conflict intensifies when his daughter, Martha, falls in love with Ginger George, a magnetic marabi instrumentalist whose lifestyle and values challenge tradition and ignite tension within the family.

The cast of "Marabi", Gabisile Tshabalala (as Martha) and Katleho Moloi (as Ginger George) and other members on stage at The Market Theatre. Photo: Ngoma ka Mphahlele.

Beyond its depiction of forced removals from Doornfontein to Orlando in Soweto, Marabi confronts a broader social collapse brought about by systemic oppression. The production explores moral degeneration, the erosion of family structures, teenage pregnancy, and the psychological burden carried by black men under apartheid. These themes are woven into a haunting portrait of resistance and survival within a dystopian society designed to strip the oppressed of dignity and stability.

"This is not just a classic story retold with a fresh voice and sound."

At the heart of the production is theatre veteran Sello Sebotsane, whose portrayal of Mabongo anchors the narrative with emotional depth. He delivers a performance marked by restraint and humility, even as his character’s simmering rage threatens to erupt. Mabongo’s thunderous temper is shaped by his desperate need to protect his two young daughters from township hoodlums who seek to lure them into shebeens as marabi singers, while he shoulders the relentless pressure of being the family’s sole provider.

In this revival, Marabi resonates as both a historical account and a contemporary warning, reminding audiences of the enduring scars of apartheid while celebrating the resilience of communities who found expression, defiance and belonging through music.

All the cast members of "Marabi"singing and dancing on stage at The Market Theatre. Photo: Ngoma ka Mphahlele.

As The Market Theatre marks 50 years of fearless storytelling, Marabi stands as a fitting and deeply South African tribute to a past that continues to shape the present.

Directed by Arthur Molepo, who was part of the original cast, the play with music that is produced by Mpho Molepo (Molepo Theatre Projects) in association with The Market Theatre runs from 19 Jan – 15 Feb 2026. The script – originally workshopped by Junction Avenue Theatre Company – is brought to life by a nine-member cast that features Katleho Moloi (as Ginger George) and Gabisile Tshabalala (as Martha), to mention a few.

Director Arthur Molepo calls the revival of “Marabi” during The Market Theatre’s landmark year a profound tribute to South Africa’s cultural heritage.

“This is not just a classic story retold with a fresh voice and sound,” he explains. “It’s also an opportunity to bridge generations of artists, promote social cohesion and preserve our country’s musical heritage. This piece speaks to the power of music as a transcendent force, using rhythm to guide us back to our roots.”

Staged in the 140th year since Johannesburg was formed, the piece in 2026 presents an important reflection on the city’s unique cultural identity, artistic richness and movement of people. It looks into the introduction of recorded music and the exploitation of artists that followed, bearing rich reflection for the music industry, especially for up-and-coming musicians.

The cast of "Marabi" Mpho Molepo, Josias Dos Moleele and Mduduzi Mtshali. Photo: Ngoma ka Mphahlele.

This local classic further exposes the evils of the apartheid regime’s forced removals, which uprooted families from Doornfontein to Soweto in order to achieve its ideology of segregation. For The Market Theatre, opening its 50th anniversary year with this uniquely South African work illustrates its proud legacy as the people’s theatre.

Greg Homann, Artistic Director at The Market Theatre Foundation, says this work is a signature South African theatre piece that will be enjoyed by both the legacy audiences as well as new theatre-goers of any age, giving them access to a period that defined the soul of the city.

Homann further notes that just as marabi rose from the hardship of one of Johannesburg’s toughest spaces to become the city’s defining cultural sound and movement, The Market Theatre too was born in the wake of one of apartheid’s darkest tragedies: June 16, 1976.

“We opened our doors in the same week as the Youth Uprising, which rooted The Market to a legacy of using artistic expression to resist oppression. It feels especially fitting, then, to begin our 50th-anniversary year with a production that celebrates how music and dance have shaped our social life and created a sense of home for generations of migrants navigating a fast-paced and unfamiliar city,” he says.

Get ready to start your year with a theatrical experience that reminds us of South Africa’s true gift to the world: the power of sound, movement and storytelling.

Tickets for the show are available on Webtickets - https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/event.aspx?itemid=1579397410 via The Market Theatre’s website. Reduced price bookings of 4 or more and half-price Wednesdays are also on sale.