Acclaimed theatre practitioner Greg Homann is ready to take the reins as the new artistic director of the Market Theatre.
Homann will be replacing veteran actor and theatre practitioner James Ngcobo, who left the Market Theatre to join the Joburg Theatre (JCT) as the artistic director, in June last year.
“I’m thrilled to have been appointed as The Market Theatre Foundation’s artistic director,” said Homann.
“It’s a role that I feel deeply honoured to have been offered. I have enormous respect for what The Market Theatre Foundation stands for,” he said.
In a press statement shared with IOL Entertainment, Homann said he intends to hit the ground running with exciting new plans for the Market Theatre.
“Soon after taking up the role, I want to initiate a multi-pronged new plays development programme aimed at writers, playwrights, and theatre-makers of all experience levels. Let’s invest time and energy into preparing our untold stories for future production.
He continued: “For almost 50 years The Market Theatre Foundation has served as an unflinching platform for the very best actors, performance artists, directors, playwrights, theatre-makers, designers, and visual artists in this country.
“It has given our most socially engaged and politically conscious storytellers a voice. I believe a significant part of the job is to open the door to the next generation of such artists.”
Homann has cemented his name as a leading figure in the South African theatrical landscape for over a decade.
Homann has been a member of the National Arts Festival Artistic Committee where he advised on the overall curatorial orientation, reported on proposals to the main theatre programme, and served as an ambassador for the festival.
The productions he has directed and written have been nominated for over 40 awards, winning 12 Naledi Theatre Awards, including Best New South African Play and two for Best Cutting-Edge Production.
In 2014, he was the recipient of South Africa’s highest accolade for theatre, the prestigious Standard Bank Young Artist Award.
“It gives me great pleasure to extend my warmest congratulations to Greg on his appointment as the Artistic Director of the Foundation, said Tshiamo Mokgadi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Market Theatre Foundation.
“I look forward to working with him as we work for the improvement of our business and the industries we service,” she said.
His online biography stated that prior to his appointment at The Market Theatre Foundation, Homann brought his decisive leadership style to institutions such as The Wits School of Arts and AFDA Johannesburg where he was the head of the School of Live Performance.
Homann was for a time resident playwright at The South African State Theatre.