The award-winning Abrahamse & Meyer production of Yukio Mishima’s haunting modern Noh classic The Lady Aoi returns to the Artscape Arena for six performances only, between 14 and 21 February 2026, before representing South Africa on the international stage in Milan. The production has been officially selected for participation in the XVI International Prize “The Naked Theatre” by Teresa Pomodoro, presented by the NO’HMA Association and the Municipality of Milan.
This invitation places the Cape Town production among a select group of global theatre works celebrated for artistic innovation, social relevance, and a commitment to a theatre stripped of spectacle in favour of raw human truth – the guiding ethos of Teresa Pomodoro’s “Teatro Nudo.”
“Audience held in thrall”
Directed by Fred Abrahamse, and performed by Marcel Meyer and Matthew Baldwin, The Lady Aoi is a fusion of physical theatre, puppetry, mask work, and original music. Mishima’s play – inspired by an 11th-century episode from The Tale of Genji – tells of a jealous spirit who nightly torments the body of her former lover’s new wife. Desire becomes possession; love becomes exorcism.
With a soundscape by Charl-Johan Lingenfelder and award-winning designs by Fred Abrahamse and Marcel Meyer, the production conjures a world where the living and the dead breathe the same air. Since its commission by the Provincetown Tennessee Williams Theatre Festival (USA) in 2014, the work has toured internationally and became the most nominated South African production of the 2021/22 season, winning Fleur du Cap Awards for Best Set and Best Costume Design.
In her review of the 2021 production, Beverley Brommert wrote for WeekendSpecial: “From opening image to shattering dénouement, the audience is held in thrall, tension sustained by uneasy curiosity as to what will happen next in the oneiric world of a hospital ward in the small hours of the morning.”
What: The Lady Aoi
Where and when: Artscape Arena between 14 and 21 February 2026
Tickets: Webtickets
WS
