Experience the award-winning dance theatre production Gat at Suidoosterfees 2026

The Suidoosterfees, an annual Cape Town arts festival showcasing theatre, dance, music and other performance work, will stage Gat at the Castle of Good Hope in its 2026 programme.

The award-winning dance theatre production by Byron Klassen and the Garage Dance Ensemble will be performed in the castle courtyard from April 29 to May 1.

Gat follows performers travelling in a bakkie through a narrative shaped by community life, loss and survival. Through movement, text, and music, it explores how personal and collective histories intersect, particularly in communities affected by displacement and economic pressure.

The production won Best Dance Driven Production at the 2025 Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees.

The cast includes actors Ilse Samuels and Miché van Wyk, and dancers Faroll Coetzee, Georgia Julies, Manon-Lee Saal, Druwayne Strauss and Keeanu Samuels. It is directed and choreographed by Byron Klassen.

Van Wyk, who co-wrote and performs in the production, said it draws on lived experience and personal background, with themes of faith, heritage, and womanhood shaping her work.

Klassen, a founding member of the company, said the work is grounded in movement shaped by place and lived experiences, linking performance to community experience.

The production aligns with the Suidoosterfees 2026 theme of “Home”, which focuses on expression through performance. In Gat, this is reflected regarding mining landscapes, memory, and resilience.

Staged at the Castle of Good Hope, the performance places contemporary performance within a colonial-era site, using the setting to underscore its engagement with history and belonging.

IOL