Magnet Early Years Theatre Festival New

Magnet Theatre presents two enchanting shows for children up to the age of seven as well as one for Moms and babies up to one year – a South African first.

The programme is: SCOOP: Kitchen Play for Moms and Babes (ages two weeks to 12 months) at 10h00;  Ekhaya, (ages 3 to 7)  at 11h30 and KNOCK! (ages 3 to 7) at 14h30.

The Magnet Early Years Theatre Company is an initiative to train young theatremakers in the field of Early Childhood Development Theatre, and create these three new productions in 2015.

The project has been made possible by a flagship grant from the National Arts Council of South Africa with contributions from the Goethe-Institut and the SA-UK Seasons 2014&2015. The company members are Koleka Putuma, Jason Jacobs, Indalo Stofile, Nolufefe Ntshuntshe and Sivuyile Dunjwa.


SCOOP: Kitchen Play for Moms and Babes,is the first ever South African baby play for Moms and young babies. This production is performed in a contained and relaxing space especially designed to accommodate individual attention.  With the use of sounds, lights and textures, babies will be taken on an enchanting journey crafted to delight, surprise and soothe. Created by the company, under the mentorship of Jennie Reznek and with input from Anna Newell from Replay Theatre Company in Ireland (who have extensive experience in creating theatre for babies), SCOOP is directed by Koleka Putuma, designed by Nicola Date and performed by company members.

Ekhaya explores a child’s understanding of being ‘’at home’, in various contexts, using catchy original songs, music and vibrant visual images, while drawing on the three major languages spoken in the Western Cape: English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa.Created by the company under the mentorship of Jennie Reznek, Ekhaya is directed by Koleka Putuma, designed by Frankie Nassimbeni and performed by the company.The production was the result of workshops and an incubation process with Gabi Dan Droste, an international expert in Early Childhood Development Theatre, hosted in partnership with ASSITEJ South Africa. 

KNOCK! is a fun discovery of the natural material of wood - its sounds, what it can do and what it can make. Stimulating for the imagination, the cast create strange and magical animals and images with wonderfully shaped pieces of forest wood, interacting with the children through song, rhythms and creating sounds.Directed by Jennie Reznek, assisted by Koleka Putuma, KNOCK! is created by the company, with input from Barbara Kölling from Helios Theatre Company in Germany, designed by Asiphe Lili and performed by the company.