Whispers in the Corridors is an immersive museum theatre production staged inside the Constitutional Hill Women’s Gaol evoking the narratives of some of the women who were imprisoned there in the 20th Century. The play was written by Stephanie Jenkins during her 2022 Writing Fellowship through the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS). Jenkins has made other museum theatre plays in Durban, such as Beer Halls, Pass Laws and Just Cause (2020) in KwaMuhle Museum, with the intention of bringing history to life in the present.

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

The performance uses three actor-guides, played by Clare Mortimer (left), Belinda Henwood (middle) and Sibahle Sibiya (right), who play multiple historical characters and take the audience on a journey through the former prison (now a museum), allowing present audiences to get a glimpse of the past, listening to the whispers evoked in this former place of confinement, and punishment.

​

Audiences will encounter historical characters such as Mmagauta Molefe, Jeannie Noel, Hannchen Koornhoff, Vesta Smith, Barbara Hogan, Lillian Keagile, and various other historical political prisoners, warders and common-law prisoners. The interactive performance, explores the various women who were kept inside Constitution Hill, allowing their stories to be retold in the former prison encouraging audience members to learn about, engage with and share in the histories that remain in the corridors.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

Performances are from 27 – 31 October 2023 at Constitutional Hill Women’s Gaol.

 

Booking is via Quicket.

 

• Please ensure you book for the specific production Whispers in the Corridors.

• General museum tickets will not allow you into the production. Tickets for the production will only allow you into the Women's Gaol for the duration of the performance.

• Secure parking is available in the basement parking of the museum.

• Schools performances are also available.

• Please note the performance is not suitable for children under the age of 12. 

 

Thank you to the National Arts Council (NAC), Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme (PESP), and, Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study (JIAS).