5 Best Performing Arts in Johannesburg, South Africa

Almost all major performances and many smaller ones can be booked through Computicket.

Joburg Theatre is Jo'burg's main cultural venue and the home of the Joburg Ballet Theatre. It contains the enormous Nelson Mandela Theatre and the smaller People's and Fringe theaters. Many international productions are staged here, but there's also a good balance of local material, such as the annual pantomime by Janice Honeyman, which satirizes South Africans uproariously.

The Newtown Cultural Precinct, an old area that started as a produce market, has undergone a successful rejuvenation. Now clean and brightly lit, it's home to the Market Theatre, which is famous for its contemporary South African and African productions in particular. It was also an important theater for anti-apartheid protest theater. The theater occasionally features traditional African music and jazz performances. The complex also has a good bar and restaurant and an art gallery.

The Teatro opened in 2007 at the Montecasino leisure and casino complex in northern Jo'burg, introducing patrons to a world-class theater facility with its debut production, The Lion King. Since then, it's staged dozens of world-class productions, including shows as diverse as Phantom of the Opera, War Horse, and Swan Lake. Although it seats more than 1,800, no seat is more than 33 meters (100 feet) from the action—and there's plenty of that. Expect large-scale music productions, cirque arts, drama performances, stand-up comedy, and National Theatre productions. Teatro is one of the world's 10 largest lyric theaters.

Located on Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, this intimate, 200-seater theater has hosted thousands of shows since it opened in 1997. Its extensive repertoire includes comedy shows, cultural celebrations, author interviews, jazz concerts, plays, and music recitals. Friday lunchtime concerts are a boon to Sandton-based workers.