Events
Johannesburg
On 16th May 2026 the inaugural Shakespeare NonScenes workshop took place at the Johannesburg Holocaust and Genocide Centre (JHGC) in Johannesburg, in collaboration with the Quickening Theatre Company and the Tsikanye-Chaka Centre.
Led by the Quickening Theatre Company’s founders and co-directors Bianca Amato and Kensiwe Tshabalala, the day began with a new spin on the traditional museum tour. As the JHGC's education team guided the participating school learners and teachers through the Centre's permanent exhibition, they engaged in a dialogue with Bianca and Kensiwe who presented pieces from a range of Shakespearean plays including King Lear, The Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure and Sir Thomas More. The presented pieces were carefully chosen to connect with the exhibition's themes, providing the learners with an opportunity to explore the connections between Shakespeare's words and ideas, and human rights issues in both their historical and contemporary contexts.
After the tour, the learners and their teachers were put into groups and tasked with creating their own short theatrical performances which reflected on specific human rights issues. In creating their performances, the performers had to draw on one or more of the lines from the Shakespearean pieces they were exposed to during the exhibition tour. These lines provided the framework for and were integrated into their performances.
After an extensive rehearsal process, guided by Bianca and Kensiwe, the learners and their teachers performed their pieces which touched on issues such as xenophobia, racism and the absence of women's stories during the Holocaust. The day concluded with each group reflecting on the inspiration for their pieces, as well as their rehearsal and collaborative processes.
In their feedback on the event, both the learners and their teachers highlighted how the workshop helped them engage with Shakespeare's work in exciting new ways, and created a unique chance to engage with peers from a range of different school environments.
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Cape Town
On 23rd May, we held our second Shakespeare NonScenes workshop at the Desmond and Leah Tutu Foundation in Cape Town. This time the learners got to experience the Foundation's Truth to Power exhibition which pays tribute to the life and legacy of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his wife, Leah Tutu. During the course of the exhibition, the Quickening Theatre Company's Kensiwe Tshabalala performed a range of monologues from Shakespeare's plays which connected to the exhibition's themes, allowing the learners to contemplate intersections between Shakespeare's words and philosophies, and those of Tutu's.
After the exhibition, the learners and their teachers were put into groups and tasked with creating their own performance pieces that reflected on human rights issues. As with the Johannesburg workshop, the performers were required to utilize quotes from the Shakespearean monologues Kensiwe performed during the exhibition tour. Along with this, they were also required to integrate quotes from Archbishop Desmond Tutu (as seen throughout the exhibition) into their performances.
After an extensive rehearsal process, guided by Kensiwe and the teachers, the learners then had the opportunity to perform their pieces, many of which touched on issues of racism and religion-associated prejudices. The day concluded with each group providing feedback on their rehearsal and collaborative processes. Many of the learners shared that they really enjoyed working with the peers from other schools, and that this event expanded their understandings of South African history and its impact on the country's present-day realities.
