La Ronde: a provocative exploration of sex and power at the Baxter

IOL News

05-06-2025

Awethu Hleli, Carlo Daniels, Berenice Barbier, Lyle October, Nolufefe Ntshuntshe, Aiden Scott, Tamzin Williams
Image: Mark Dobson
La Ronde is set to ignite The Baxter Studio this winter with a daring and darkly comic new production directed by Leila Henriques, running from 20 June to 12 July 2025. Inspired by Arthur Schnitzler's once-censored 1897 play, this contemporary reimagining explores themes of sex, power, and longing through a chain of encounters between 10 strikingly different characters.
In a world obsessed with visibility, image and performance, this modern adaptation of LaRonde probes a world where intimacy is currency, sex is a calculated strategy and everyone is performing for someone.
Set in modern-day Cape Town, the play unfolds through the eyes of a DJ, who soundtracks each scene with music that reflects the emotional tempo of the characters' intimate exchanges. 'This play is funny, awkward and deeply human,' said Henriques. 'Anyone who's ever chased love or connection will see themselves in it.'
Lyle October, Berenice Barbier and cast of La Ronde
Image: Mark Dobson
The production features The Baxter's acclaimed Fire's Burning Company — Awethu Hleli, Lyle October, Tamzin Daniels, Nolufefe Ntshuntshe and Carlo Daniels — joined by Berenice Barbier and Aidan Scott, both of whom have earned critical praise, with Scott recently honoured as Best New Director at the Fleur du Cap Awards.
With design by Patrick Curtis, costumes by Wolf Britz, and lighting by Franky Steyn, La Ronde merges visceral choreography, sharp-witted dialogue, and a pulsing score into a theatrical experience that's provocative, poignant, and unapologetically bold.
Cast members shared their thoughts on the production with Weekend Argus, reflecting on its emotional depth and cultural relevance.
'It's both exciting and scary,' said Awethu Hleli, reflecting on performing La Ronde in a contemporary South African context. 'As young artists in South Africa, we don't shy away from complexity — we embrace it. We're part of a generation that's evolved in how we think about sexuality, and we're using our voices to engage with topics that were once considered taboo.'
Asked to choose a song that captures her character's experience, Hleli chose Dolly Parton's Just Because I'm a Woman. 'My character is very aware of her own strength and how that can be used against her — or judged — as if she's somehow less capable of loving.'
For Carlo Daniels, the play unlocks deeper reflections on romantic relationships. 'La Ronde really gets you thinking differently and reveals some hard truths about relationships,' he said. 'They're often complex and layered — especially once they're consummated — but what the play shows is that these knots can be untangled, even if it takes time.' He added: 'It's always great working with this team. You're reminded of what a gift real teamwork is, and the kind of magic that can come from it.'
For Berenice Barbier, it's the silence in La Ronde that speaks loudest. 'There's a moment where everything goes completely still — no lines, no gestures — just a quiet return to self-realisation,' she said. 'It's charged with unspoken tension and self-awareness. That silence says more than a monologue ever could. Every night it lands differently, and that unpredictability is thrilling.'
Carlo Daniels, Awethu Hleli and cast of La Ronde,
Image: Mark Dobson
Though La Ronde is rich with emotionally charged and intimate scenes, it's also filled with unexpected moments of levity. 'I'm definitely the one most likely to burst out laughing during a serious scene,' Barbier admitted. 'But those moments are a gift — they remind us not to take ourselves too seriously.'
It's this balance — between humour and discomfort, silence and revelation — that gives La Ronde its power. As Hleli put it, 'We're part of a generation that doesn't shy away from complexity. We embrace it.' In this bold new staging, La Ronde becomes more than a series of encounters — it's a mirror held up to modern intimacy, in all its vulnerability, contradiction and connection."
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Weekend Argus