RECAP!
One Act Play Fest 2026

Our 2026 festival closed with a bang!


Over three evenings, the Roosevelt Park Recreation Centre became home to packed houses and audiences fully locked into the stories unfolding in front of them. The festival closed on a sold-out final night, a fitting end to a season that reminded everyone just how alive and necessary community theatre continues to be.


Franklin Players extends sincere thanks to every adjudicator, performer, creative, volunteer, and supporter who contributed to this year’s festival. A special thank you goes to Jetline Blackheath for sponsoring festival printing and supporting local theatre!

OAPF 2026 Festival photo
OAPF 2026 Festival photo
OAPF 2026 Festival photo

A CELEBRATION OF INCREDIBLE TALENT!

The 2026 programme brought together productions from Roosevelt High School, Parktown Girls High School, and Franklin Players, taking audiences through stories about love, heartbreak, grief, and life after death. (See the show posters and synopses further down this page.)


The season concluded with the One Act Play Festival Awards Gala Evening! A celebration of the work both onstage and behind the scenes. The evening recognised the many people who helped bring the festival to life.

OAPF 2026 Awards photo
OAPF 2026 Awards photo
OAPF 2026 Awards photo

MERIT AWARDS

  • • Most Convincing Emotional Performances – Fractured Vows
  • • Most Convincing Vocal Performance – Ayan Modipa
  • • Best Convergence of Theatrical Styles – Parktown Girls
OAPF 2026 Performance Awards photo
OAPF 2026 Performance Awards photo
OAPF 2026 Performance Awards photo

Performance Awards

  • • Best Cameo Role – Okhela Sigwela
  • • Best Ensemble – Fractured Vows & A New Lease on Life
  • • Runner-Up Best Supporting Actor – Daniel Solomons
  • • Best Supporting Actor – Sibusiso Khanyile
  • • Runner-Up Best Supporting Actress – Louise Daneel
  • • Best Supporting Actress – Natalija Ćerimaj
  • • Runner-Up Best Actress – Jana Eloff
  • • Best Actress in a Drama – Tess Randall
  • • Best Actress in a Comedy – Tyler Klink
  • • Runner-Up Best Actor – Kgotatso Chiwayo
  • • Best Actor – Cheye Opuamoh
OAPF 2026 Final Awards photo
OAPF 2026 Final Awards photo

Final Awards

  • • Best Tech – Awkward Brunch
  • • Best Costume – The Passenger
  • • Best Set – Moon and Marrow
  • • Best Original Script – Janet Gericke for Fractured Vows
  • • Best Director – Khaya Dube
  • • Runner-Up Best Production – Awkward Brunch
  • • Best Overall Production – A New Lease on Life

Posters & Synopses:

Fractured Vows Poster
Friday, April 24th, 2026

Fractured Vows

Written and Directed by Janet Gericke

When the veneer of suburban friendship is shattered, five women are forced to confront betrayal, secrets, and the complexities of trust. Fractured Vows is a powerful, intimate drama that explores how ordinary lives can fracture under extraordinary circumstances. Over the course of a tense book club meeting, laughter and casual conversation give way to silence, revelations, and heartbreak. Emma discovers a betrayal that shakes the foundations of her marriage and tests the bonds of her closest friendships. As truths unfold and emotions surface, each woman must face her own choices, values, and vulnerabilities. This poignant, character-driven play examines friendship, love, and resilience, asking what it truly means to stand by someone and whether forgiveness is always possible.

Moon & Marrow Poster
Friday, April 24th, 2026

Moon & Marrow

Written by Dali Mason
Directed by Bianca Botha

Moon & Marrow is a romantic comedy set in the Golden Bean café in Johannesburg where ex-lovers Lisa and Thabo unexpectedly reunite. Lisa, sharp and guarded, struggles to move on while Thabo, charming yet insecure, hopes to redeem himself after running from the relationship. As they revisit memories of moons, music and missed chances, café manager, Zoë, offers blunt comic commentary while Mrs Govender eagerly spectates. Through awkward humour and tender confessions, the pair confront their dysfunction and lingering feelings. They agree to try again – no disappearing acts – though Zoë’s cryptic final remark hints that reconciliation may not be as simple as it seems.

The Surrogate Poster
Saturday, April 25th, 2026

The Surrogate

Written by Ben Frey
Directed by Bianca Botha

The Surrogate is set in an apartment in Cape Town and the play follows Felicity Plaatjies, a sharp-witted domestic worker who claims she is pregnant with advocate Paul Voster’s child. As secrets unravel, it emerges that Felicity and Paul’s ex-partner, Ocean, are scheming to secure financial stability through a questionable surrogacy arrangement. What begins as manipulation evolves into an unexpected household dynamic – Felicity grows in confidence, assists Paul with a major legal case and forms a genuine bond with his sister, Freddie. As loyalties shift and ambitions surface, the play moves from biting comedy to emotional drama, culminating in a home birth that forces each character to confront love, responsibility and redemption.

Awkward Brunch Poster
Saturday, April 25th, 2026

Awkward Brunch

Written by Maya Olsen
Directed by Ncumisa Ndimeni

Awkward Brunch is a humorous and dramatic exploration of relationships, secrets, and human flaws. Set against the backdrop of a seemingly ordinary brunch that turns into a whirlwind of conversations, accusations and shocking revelations. It revolves around a party hosted by Tom and his wife Elenore, where friends and family gather for a special announcement. However, the event quickly spirals and turns awkward encounters into the main course of the day.

The Passenger Poster
Friday, May 1st, 2026

The Passenger

Written and Directed by JC Avrille

After awakening in a place between life and death, a man known only as The Passenger is told that his journey is not yet over. Escorted by Death and driven by Time, he is taken on a strange and reflective journey through fragments of his life. Along the way, he encounters mysterious forces that seem to have shaped the choices, chances, and missed moments of his existence. As the road draws closer to its final destination, the Passenger begins to realise that this journey may reveal what his lifetime truly amounted to. The Passenger is a poetic exploration of choice, consequence, and the unseen hands that guide us all.

A New Lease on Life Poster
Friday, May 1st, 2026

A New Lease on Life

Written by Natalija Ćerimaj
Directed by Khaya Dube

In this sitcom on stage, Ghost is… well, a ghost that haunts his old apartment, unable to enter the afterlife due to paperwork issues... The Department of Heaven Affairs won’t accept him until he remembers his own name (apparently service delivery doesn’t improve beyond the grave). When the new living tenant, Jan, moves in, neither one wants to share the space. Determined to oust the ghost, Jan takes to the corners of Joburg to hire a spirit medium to exorcise him, however not everything is as it seems. Will Ghost finally move on, or is Jan doomed to be haunted by an unwanted roommate?