The winners of the 61st Cape Town Theatre Awards were announced at an intimate, elegant ceremony at The Baxter on Sunday (5 July), powered by CapeTalk.

Formerly known as the Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards, the Awards have recognised artistic excellence in the performing arts sector for more than six decades.

Embarking on the next era of its existence, the oldest theatre awards in the country have a new name – the Cape Town Theatre Awards. A new non-profit company (NPC) has also been established for convening the Awards in the future.

“We are sincerely grateful to Distell and Heineken Beverages for enabling us to honour Cape Town creatives for 60 years,” says Africa Melane, Chair of the Cape Town Theatre Awards Panel.

“We extend a heartfelt thank you to CapeTalk for supporting the Awards. The station and Primedia Broadcasting hold the view that a thriving performing arts sector is essential to a cosmopolitan city like Cape Town, and this resonates with us. The support enables us to navigate the evolution of the Awards going forward.”

“With the wealth of outstanding talent we have in the Western Cape – an incredible 65 productions were eligible for consideration in 2025 – competition was stiff. We salute our theatre makers and encourage them to keep pushing the boundaries and overcoming obstacles to continue creating their work. We congratulate all the nominees and winners,” says Melane.

“We also extend a heartfelt thank you to Boschendal who came on board as a partner this year,” he says.

The eligible productions included seven operas, three children’s productions (two musicals and one opera), 24 student productions and 55 other main productions, five of which were musicals.

The 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Nigel Vermaas, who was recognised for his immense contribution to the performing arts and broadcasting as an actor, director, and writer for stage and radio dramas. Vermaas is also a documentary maker and host of an arts and jazz radio show, all this with his instinctive and dramatic flair.

The 2025 recipient of the Innovation in Theatre Award was the Shakespeare Schools Festival South Africa (SSFSA), which celebrates its 16th year in 2026. The SSFSA is a vital platform that empowers scholars who may be intimidated and unfamiliar with Shakespeare’s work to reinterpret classic works with originality and relevance. By transforming full-length plays into dynamic short productions, they make Shakespeare accessible, engaging and meaningful for themselves and their audiences.

Winner of Best Production was the one-woman show Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater, which garnered a total of seven awards, taking the Award in each of the categories for which it was nominated: Best New South African Script; Best Performance in a Revue, Cabaret or One-Person Show; Best Lighting and Best Set Design; Best Sound Design, Original Music, Soundscape or Live Performance; Best Director and Best Production.

Hit musical Cats won three awards for Best Performance by an Ensemble, Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical and Best Costume Design, while popular favourite Chicago walked away with Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Musical and Best Actor in a Musical.

Cape Town Opera’s production of Bluebeard’s Castle won awards in both the Male and Female categories of Best Performance in an Opera, while Speelgoed van Glas / The Glass Menagerie also won two awards in the Best Supporting Actress in a Play and Best Lead Actor in a Play.

The full list of winners of the 61st Cape Town Theatre Awards are:

1.            AWARD FOR MOST PROMISING STUDENT

Scarlett Pay | LAMTA

2.            BEST NEW SOUTH AFRICAN SCRIPT

Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater | Neil Coppen & Mpume Mthombeni

3.            BEST NEW DIRECTOR

Samuel Jumat | ’n Pandok se Liefde

4.            BEST THEATRE PRODUCTION FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Moana Jr – Sonwa Sakuba Institute for the Performing Arts (SSIPA)

5.            BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE

Cats | Austin Tshikosi, Brittane van Loggerenberg, Cassiel Eatock-Winnik, Cleto van Rooi, Darren Rockman, Hannah Marshall, Harry Smallman, Jackie Lulu, Marco Titus, Michael Fullard, Morgan Marshall, Noa Duckitt, Phoebe Charles, Ryan Flynn, Scarlett Pay, Sibusiso Mxosana, Sipesihle Ngamlana, Stephan Van Der Walt, Tania Mteto, Tannah Levick, Tatum Coleman, Zoë Mclaughlin

6.            BEST PERFORMANCE IN A REVUE, CABARET OR ONE-PERSON SHOW

Mpume Mthombeni | Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater

7.            BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR MUSIC THEATRE SHOW

Carlo Daniels | Randall Simons | Colleen The Musical

8.            BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR MUSIC THEATRE SHOW

Tankiso Mamabolo | Matron Mama Morton | Chicago

9.            BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MUSICAL OR MUSIC THEATRE SHOW

Jonathan Roxmouth | Billy Flynn | Chicago

10.         BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MUSICAL OR MUSIC THEATRE SHOW

Cindy Ann Abrahams | Grizabella | Cats

11.         BEST PUPPETRY DESIGN

Adrian Kohler and William Kentridge | Faustus in Africa!

12.         BEST LIGHTING DESIGN

Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater | Tina Le Roux

13.         BEST SET DESIGN

Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater | Greg King

14.         BEST COSTUME DESIGN

Cats | John Napier

15.         BEST SOUND DESIGN, ORIGINAL MUSIC, SOUNDSCAPE OR LIVE PERFORMANCE

Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater | Tristan Horton

16.         BEST PERFORMANCE IN AN OPERA – MALE

William Berger | Bluebeard | Bluebeard’s Castle

17.         BEST PERFORMANCE IN AN OPERA – FEMALE

Siphamandla Moyake | Judith | Bluebeard’s Castle

18.         BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAY

Albert Pretorius | Caliban | The Tempest

19.         BEST PERFORMANCE BY A SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Carla Smith | Laura | Speelgoed van Glas | The Glass Menagerie

20.         BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEAD ACTRESS IN A PLAY

Rolanda Marais | Hedda | Hedda Gabler

21.         BEST PERFORMANCE BY A LEAD ACTOR IN A PLAY

Ben Albertyn | Tom | Speelgoed van Glas | The Glass Menagerie

22.         BEST DIRECTOR

Neil Coppen | Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater

23.         BEST PRODUCTION

Isidlamlilo/The Fire Eater | Empatheatre in association with The Baxter Theatre Centre and the National Arts Festival

AWARD FOR INNOVATION IN THEATRE

Shakespeare Schools Festival South Africa

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Nigel Vermaas

The panel for the 2025 year was: Africa Melane (Chair), Dr Beverley Brommert, Hadley Tituss, Naude van der Merwe, Nkgopoleng Moloi, Roxy Marosa Sive Gubangxa, Thabo K Makgolo, Tracey Saunders and Dr Wayne Muller.

The 2025 Cape Town Theatre Awards were audited by The Finance Man and Cluver Markotter Attorneys.

Christine Skinner
christinemskinner@gmail.com
082 855 7277
Cape Town Theatre Awards
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