The Market Theatre ends the year with a staging of the renowned 'Barber Shop Chronicles' for the first time on African soil.
Brilliantly written by Nigerian-born British playwright, Inua Ellams, the international-hit play is directed for South African audiences by Sibusiso Mamba. The play chronicles six barbershops across the cities of Johannesburg, Harare, Kampala, Lagos, Accra as well as London. It’s an insightful exploration of masculinity, vulnerability and connection.
This piece unmasks men in their complexities, showing barbershops as integral communities in which connection and correction mutually thrive. While culturally prejudiced gazes may have framed barbershops as problematic, chaotic and misogynistic, the play offers an unapologetic counter-framing that highlights the safety, honesty and comedy characterising these spaces.