Fourteen new South African stories with a focus on cabaret, satire and comedy, are on stage as part of Teksmark at The Baxter Theatre in Cape Town this year.
This unique script development platform is aimed at encouraging the creation of new South African theatre scripts and connecting playwrights with stakeholders from the theatre industry for possible investment and further development. Both emerging and established playwrights could participate in the project.
As in previous years, proposals were selected by a panel from the record number of proposals received, and proposals were selected to be presented as playreadings at Teksmark. Representatives of theatres, festivals, production houses and other possible investors are invited to Teksmark for conversations with playwrights and their work directly.
Creative script ideas by 16 playwrights
Attendance of the sessions at Teksmark are free and audiences in the Pam Golding Theatre at The Baxter Theatre Centre can look forward to creative script ideas by 16 playwrights, where special focus is placed on scripts in the genres of cabaret, satire and comedy with strong social political commentary. With this in mind, veteran director Marthinus Basson presents the first session of Teksmark on Thursday 10 September from 09:30 to 11:00, with a special focus on an overview and introduction to cabaret. New cabaret ideas and sketches by Llandi Beeslaar, Karli Heine, Ilse-Lee van Niekerk, Faith Kinniar and Vihann van Rooyen are presented as part of this session.
The first three scripts of Teksmark Baxter 2026 are presented during the second session on Thursday 10 September from 12:00 to 13:30 with Nell van der Merwe’s Helmond-strik (a cabaret), Lukhona Mkunyana’s Dom en die donker dinge and Moeniel Jacobs’s Hi, Jack.
Thursday’s proceedings conclude during session 3 from 14:30 to 16:30 with Richard van der Westhuizen’s Doringdraad, Beyers de Vos’s Die Masjien, Mike van Graan’s Form the River (Thames) to the Sea (Point) and Jeanne-Marié Koekemoer’s Ontaard.
Session 4 takes place on Friday 11 September from 09:30 to 11:00 with Esther von Waltsleben’s Kind regards en so, Dean Balie’s Straatpraatjes and Henriëtta Gryffenberg & Janine Opperman’s Pêrels en pekanneute, followed by the fifth and final session from 11:30 to 13:30 with Stephanie Hough’s Why my Ulusu, Reuben Murphy’s TILT, Steyn du Toit’s Skaal and Peter-John Titus & Nico Scheepers’s Oralkind.
At Teksmark playwrights can discuss their new script idea, followed by a short excerpt presented as playreading. Excerpts are presented under the direction of directors including Tara Notcutt, Nicole Holm, Petrus du Preez and Sylvaine Strike, with various playwrights also doing their own directing.
On stage for the playreading excerpts are Antoinette Kellermann, Marion Holm, Royston Stoffels, Nicole Holm, Frazer Barry, Abduragman Adams, Mbulelo Grootboom, Nicky Rebelo, David Muller, Erica Wessels, Wian Taljaard, Carlo Daniels, Eldon van der Merwe, Henriëtta Gryffenberg, Wilhelm van der Walt, Nelandi Boshoff, Karli Heine, Geon Nel, Frieda van den Heever, Cantona James and many more.
Development of new theatre productions
Attendance of Teksmark is free and all interested parties are invited to be part of the first seeds planted for the development of new South African theatre productions.
The third Teksmark Joburg is presented at the University of Johannesburg on Wednesday 21 October, with a second Teksmark Oudtshoorn taking place in the Klein Karoo in November 2026. More information about the playwrights, performers and attendance of these events will be available soon.
Teksmark is presented by the KKNK and NATi, supported by The Baxter Theatre Centre, University of Johannesburg (UJ) Arts and Culture and the Het Jan Marais Nationale Fonds.
What: Teksmark Baxter 2026
Web: kknk.co.za
KKNK office: info@kunste.org.za, 044 203 8600, WhatsApp 065 285 2337
WS
