Founded on 21 June 1976 by Barney Simon and Mannie Manim inside a converted 1913 fruit-and-vegetable market building in Newtown, the Market Theatre opened with a production of Chekhov’s The Seagull and quickly became known internationally as the ‘Theatre of the Struggle.’ During apartheid it was one of the few Johannesburg venues where black and white performers and audiences mixed as equals, staging landmark anti-apartheid work closely associated with playwright Athol Fugard and actor John Kani. The complex now houses three stages, the Barney Simon, John Kani and Laager theatres, alongside two galleries, a jazz club, restaurants and a bookshop. It has picked up more than 20 international and over 300 South African awards over the decades, and remains one of the country’s most important homes for new and challenging theatre.