Euripides wrote The Bacchae about a god who refuses to be denied and a city that tries to deny him. Twenty-four centuries on, it opens at the Joburg Theatre from 3 to 12 July 2026,1 in what the theatre bills as a world-first collaboration between Joburg Ballet and the University of Johannesburg Choir.2 It forms part of Joburg Ballet's 25th-anniversary season.3
The draw is the collision of forms. The tragedy is staged through ballet, indigenous African movement, choral performance, and live orchestral music at once.3 It is choreographed by Mthuthuzeli November, the Olivier Award-winning South African dancer-maker, in his first full-length work and his first in Johannesburg.1 Neo Muyanga composes, Jay Pather directs, and the eighty-strong University of Johannesburg Choir sings the score.2,3,1
If you are weighing whether to go: This is new African work at scale, made now rather than revived - a major choreographer, a living composer, and a full choir taking on a story about power and belonging. Tickets are on sale at the Joburg Theatre.
