'Alice in the Cape Flats' - the theatre show where queer voices take centre stage

Cape Talk's Clarence Ford chats to writer and director, Berlin Williams.

Listen below:

"The production is going to take you on a rollercoaster, so be ready..."

- Berlin Williams, Writer and Director

A bold reimagining of 'Alice in Wonderland' is on at the Baxter Theatre until 23 August.

'Alice in the Cape Flats', written and directed by Williams, is part drag show, part musical, part political theatre, and all heart. 

This time, Alice isn’t chasing a rabbit down a hole; she’s chasing self-discovery in a world where queerness, colour, and identity collide. 

Described as deeply personal, hilarious, and often emotional, this production is said to reclaim space for queer, femme, and coloured narratives long ignored in mainstream South African theatre.

Drawing from his own life and the shared stories of others like him, Williams reshapes Alice's whimsical world into a raw, unfiltered Cape Flats experience. 

Characters like Hatter now embody the multiple masks queer people wear to survive, and Alice herself transforms from a lost girl into a loud, proud figure of resistance. 

"All of the characters are my favourite, but I think the one that I relate to the most, and the one that a lot of people are going to relate to, is Hatter. Hatter has a split personality... multiple personalities... and I feel like so many of us have to walk around as queer people, as coloured people, we have to find multiple personalities within ourselves to cope with things that are happening around us all the time."

- Berlin Williams, Writer and Director

Click here to book your tickets. 

Scroll up to listen to the full conversation.