AFDA Cape Town’s School of Live Performance is celebrating another remarkable achievement, with two students nominated for the Most Promising Student Award at the newly renamed Cape Town Theatre Awards, one of South Africa’s longest-standing and most respected theatre honours.
Britany Mackenzie Baker and Tumelo Gwanzura have secured two of the ten nominations in the student category, continuing AFDA Cape Town’s impressive track record of recognition within the city’s professional theatre landscape. Their nominations ensure that AFDA’s Live Performance School has been represented in the awards’ student category for an extraordinary eighth consecutive year, reaffirming the institution’s commitment to developing emerging performance talent.
The nominations arrive during a significant moment in South African theatre history. Formerly known as the Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards, the awards have entered a new chapter as the Cape Town Theatre Awards, following the establishment of a nonprofit organisation dedicated to preserving and growing the legacy of the country’s oldest theatre awards programme. With a history spanning 61 years, the awards continue to celebrate excellence in performance, directing, writing, design and emerging talent across the Cape Town theatre sector.
“We are absolutely thrilled; not only for our two student nominations but for the formation of the nonprofit that will keep the oldest theatre awards in the country going. Previously known as the Fleur du Cap Awards; they now become the Cape Town Theatre Awards! All in all, 61 years of recognition of the city’s theatre and performance work. What a brilliant legacy,” says AFDA Cape Town Head of Live Performance School, Liz Mills.
Mills highlighted the significance of the achievement within a highly competitive field. A total of 139 students from six institutions were eligible for nomination in the Most Promising Student category, making the recognition of both Mackenzie Baker and Gwanzura particularly noteworthy.
“Britany Mackenzie Baker and Tumelo Gwanzura bagged two of the ten nominations, securing Live Performance, Cape Town’s presence in the awards nominations for the eighth consecutive year. Huge congratulations to Britany and Tumelo and thanks and congratulations to the Live Performance staff too,” she adds.