Magnet Theatre Cape Town — Inspiring Documentary Photography of Youth Performance from the Townships

Magnet Theatre Cape Town has been creating performance opportunities for young people from the city’s most under-resourced townships since the early 2000s. Based in the Old Match Factory in Woodstock, Magnet Theatre Cape Town is an independent performance company and training facility founded by Mark Fleishman, Jennie Reznek and Mandla Mbothwe.

Youth Development at Magnet Theatre Cape Town

The youth performance work at Magnet Theatre Cape Town focuses on physical theatre, devised performance and community engagement. The company has a particular commitment to young people from areas where access to the performing arts is virtually nonexistent. Schools across the Cape Flats rarely have arts programmes of any kind. Drama, dance and music education are considered luxuries in communities where basic educational infrastructure is often inadequate. Magnet Theatre Cape Town exists to fill that gap, providing structured training and creative opportunity to young people who would otherwise have none.

Magnet Theatre Cape Town Youth Performance

Performers from Philippi and Khayelitsha at Magnet Theatre Cape Town

The young performers in these photographs came from Philippi and Khayelitsha, two of the largest and most densely populated townships in the Cape Town metropolitan area. Khayelitsha was established in 1985 during the apartheid era as a relocation area for Black residents and now has a population estimated at over 400,000. Philippi faces similar challenges: high unemployment, overcrowding and extremely limited recreational or cultural facilities. Magnet Theatre Cape Town’s Culture Gangs programme works directly with young people from these communities, running monthly workshops, holiday programmes and theatre visits. The programme’s aim is to create gangs committed to culture rather than crime, a deliberate framing in areas where gang recruitment begins at primary school age.

The Showcase at Magnet Theatre Cape Town

At the end of each cycle, a showcase is held at Magnet Theatre Cape Town where the participants perform for an audience. For many, it is the first time they have been on a stage. The showcase is the culmination of months of consistent work: learning to use the body as an instrument, developing the confidence to perform in front of strangers, and collaborating with peers. Since 2008, Magnet Theatre Cape Town has produced close to 100 graduates, many of whom have gone on to university education and professional careers in the arts. These photographs document one of the showcases at Magnet Theatre Cape Town: the performers on stage, the concentration on their faces, the physicality of the work, and the moment of stepping into a spotlight that represents a world many of them did not know existed.