LAMTA opened its production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical Into the Woods at Theatre on the Bay, Camps Bay, on 24 October 2026. The show runs until 14 November, featuring a cast of 25 students from the institution under the direction of Sylvaine Strike.
The musical reimagines classic fairy tales including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel. At its centre is the story of a Baker and his wife, who set out to collect four magical ingredients to break a family curse imposed by a witch.
The production delves into complex themes such as wishes and their consequences, responsibility, grief, loss, and desire. Strike described the show as an exploration of “the quest for self-fulfilment as opposed to the quest for fulfilling a community,” underscoring the musical’s darker, more reflective tone.
Into the Woods first premiered in 1986 and gained wider recognition following its 2014 film adaptation. This Cape Town staging offers audiences a raw, at times unsettling take on familiar stories, framed through a lens that interrogates the fallout of our choices beyond the magic of happy endings.
Keith Bain, reviewing the production for Daily Maverick, labelled the show “a stark raving lunatic asylum of a show,” pointing towards its intense emotional and narrative complexity. Despite this, the substantial cast of emerging local talent suggests a promising platform for young actors to engage with Sondheim’s challenging material.
The National also highlighted the production as an ambitious and thought-provoking offering, inviting Cape Town audiences to experience the intertwining of beloved fairy tales with a profound human drama.
Presented at Cape Town’s Theatre on the Bay, the show forms part of LAMTA’s ongoing commitment to bringing high-calibre musical theatre to local audiences and fostering the next generation of performers. The production has so far earned applause for its boldness and depth, though detailed audience reception will become clearer as the run progresses.
Into the Woods continues at Theatre on the Bay until 14 November 2026. Cape Flats News will monitor for further developments and interviews with cast and creative team as the show advances.