Seatavern

The Centre for Theatre, Dance & Performance Studies (CTDPS), by arrangement with DALRO (PTY) Limited presents Lynn Nottage’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Ruined, directed by Associate Professor Sara Matchett with choreography by Jackie Manyaapelo.

Set in a war-torn village in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ruined tells the story of women navigating survival, violence, and resilience in Mama Nadi’s bar. This final graduating production for CTDPS diploma students has been collaboratively created, with students overseeing all scenographic elements as well as the live music and poetry that shape the work.

Framed through materialist ecofeminism, the production highlights the interconnected exploitation of women’s bodies and the natural world, while reimagining possibilities for care, resistance, and survival. Ruined is presented not only in solidarity with the past, but also with the ongoing suffering of ordinary people in the DRC who continue to face violence under capitalist, patriarchal, and extractivist regimes.

Dates: 8 - 10 October Time: 19h30 Venue: Arena Theatre, Hiddingh Campus [32 - 37 Orange Street, Gardens 8001]

Join us for an evening of theatre that confronts contemporary urgent realities while holding space for resilience, solidarity, and hope.

The World Premier of Ruined was The Goodman Theatre and The Manhattan Theatre Club and commissioned by The Goodman Theatre.