# Market Theatre in Johannesburg — Citylit

Newtown’s landmark theatre, known for South African storytelling and a history of protest performance.

Canonical page: https://citylit.vercel.app/johannesburg/theatres/market-theatre

Source check dates describe our catalog research, not live confirmation by the venue. Opening hours, prices and accessibility can change. Unknown facts are not confirmed unavailable. City-reference coordinates and city photographs must not be treated as venue locations or venue photos.

## Market Theatre

Newtown’s landmark theatre, known for South African storytelling and a history of protest performance.

- City: Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
- Category: Theatres
- Address: 56 Margaret Mcingana Street, Newtown
- Citylit page: https://citylit.vercel.app/johannesburg/theatres/market-theatre
- Official website: https://markettheatre.co.za/
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_Theatre_%28Johannesburg%29
- Sources checked: 2026-10-08
- Coordinates: longitude 28.032389, latitude -26.201654 (venue pin; entrance may be unverified)
- Coordinate source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market\_Theatre\_%28Johannesburg%29

The Market Theatre, based in the downtown bohemian suburb of Newtown in Johannesburg, South Africa, was opened in 1976, operating as an independent, anti-racist theatre during the country's apartheid regime. It was named after a fruit and vegetable market that was previously located there. It was also known as the Old Indian Market or the Newtown Market, which closed after 60 years. 
The Market Theatre was founded by 
Barney Simon (Artistic Director), Mannie Manim (Administrative Director), Aletta Bezuidenhout, Vanessa Cooke, Judith Cornell, David Eppel, Leoni Hofmeyer, Janice Honeyman, Danny
Keogh, Sue Kiel, Lindsay Reardon, and John Oakley Smith.

About source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_Theatre_%28Johannesburg%29; checked 2026-10-12; license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.

### Practical facts
- admission: Unknown / unconfirmed (unknown)
- booking: Unknown / unconfirmed (unknown)
- stepFreeEntrance: Unknown / unconfirmed (unknown)
- accessibleToilets: Unknown / unconfirmed (unknown)
- parking: Unknown / unconfirmed (unknown)
- publicTransport: Unknown / unconfirmed (unknown)
- family: Unknown / unconfirmed (unknown)
- environment: indoor (editorial-estimate); checked 2026-10-08; source: https://markettheatre.co.za/
- durationMinutes: 120 (editorial-estimate); checked 2026-10-08; source: Citylit editorial planning estimate

### Sources
- Market Theatre – Home of live theatre shows – Theatres in Johannesburg: https://markettheatre.co.za/; fetched 2026-10-08; retrieved during research
- Market Theatre (Johannesburg): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_Theatre_(Johannesburg); fetched 2026-10-07; search-verified
- Market Theatre (Johannesburg): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_Theatre_%28Johannesburg%29; fetched 2026-10-08; retrieved during research

### Photographs and credits
- https://citylit.vercel.app/images/99c167249f69.jpg — This is the picture of the Market Theatre which eventually changed its name to John Kani Theatre.. Venue photograph. Author: Bobbyshabangu; license: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Markert_Theatre_(_John_Kani_Theatre)_3.jpg

## Further reading
[How Citylit researches its guides](https://citylit.vercel.app/about) · [Privacy and data](https://citylit.vercel.app/privacy)

Original descriptions are Citylit editorial content. Wikipedia excerpts and photographs retain their separately linked licenses. No blanket license covers all third-party material.