Spark in the Dark

SPARK IN THE DARK (2021-)

SPARK IN THE DARK is a Cape Town-based theatre company and pop-up performance platform founded by Sophie Joans, dedicated to showcasing the work of emerging young South African theatre- and comedy-makers. It is best known for its flagship festival programme, the Spark Hub (also styled SparkHub), under which readers may also search.

Founding and aims

Spark in the Dark was founded in 2021 by Sophie Joans in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. Joans had worked at the Alexander Bar, a central Cape Town fringe venue that did not survive the lockdown, and started the company as a form of "guerrilla theatre" to keep live performance alive when few small independent spaces remained. It began as a pop-up operation, staging work in whatever venues could be found, with a stated mission to platform emerging young performers, remove the financial barriers that keep them off the national stage, and create spaces for creative connection.

History

In its early years the company built a programme of recurring events and training, including Play Things (a monthly experimental showcase), Raunchy Renditions (a storytelling event Joans co-founded in 2019) and Solo Fest, alongside workshops in clowning, improvisation and storytelling. The company has employed more than 40 performers, partly through National Arts Council and Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme funding.

The Spark Hub, the company's best-known initiative, was conceived at the National Arts Festival (NAF) in Makhanda in 2024, when Sophie Joans and a group of fellow theatre-makers sharing a venue and accommodation began pooling their resources. It operates as a collective that takes over a single festival venue under the Spark in the Dark banner and shares the financial and organisational burden of presenting work. The collective took 14 original works to the National Arts Festival in 2024. According to Joans, the 2025 season yielded seven Standard Bank Ovation Awards, raised some R120 000, and launched the careers of ten emerging artists. For 2026 the Spark Hub returned to the National Arts Festival (25 June - 5 July), housed at the Princess Alice Hall, former home of the Cape Town Edge, with a ThundaFund crowdfunding campaign launched on 25 May 2026.

Those associated with the company include its founder Sophie Joans, together with Cailyb Prinsloo, Dara Beth, Kamogelo Mhlantla and Samantha Carlisle. Several have presented their own acclaimed work through or alongside the company: Sophie Joans is the writer-performer of the solo play Île (directed by Rob van Vuuren and a Standard Bank Ovation Award winner that toured internationally) and of Dog Rose, staged at the Baxter Theatre, while Samantha Carlisle's solo show Messy was directed by Dara Beth. These are the makers' own pieces rather than works authored by the company.

Sources

2021. 'Sophie Joans', Artfluence Human Rights Festival, University of KwaZulu-Natal. https://artfluence.ukzn.ac.za/participant/sophie-joans/

2022. 'Review: Sophie Joans' Île is a spark in the dark - magical and lyrical storytelling theatre', The Cape Robyn. https://thecaperobyn.co.za/review-sophie-joans-ile-is-a-spark-in-the-dark-magical-and-lyrical-storytelling-theatre/

2025. 'Join the movement to fund Southern Suburbs performers for the National Arts Festival', Southern Suburbs Tatler, 5 June 2025. https://southernsuburbstatler.co.za/news/2025-06-05-join-the-movement-to-fund-southern-suburbs-performers-for-the-national-arts-festival/

2025. 'Stage: Assist Spark in the Dark with production costs for Spark Hub NAF 2025', The Cape Robyn. https://thecaperobyn.co.za/stage-assist-spark-in-the-dark-with-production-costs-for-spark-hub-naf-2025/

2025. 'Sophie Joans', Mail & Guardian (200 Young South Africans), 2025. https://mg.co.za/200youngsouthafricans/2025/sophie-joans/

2026. 'SparkHub to Bring Emerging South African Theatre Makers to National Arts Festival', BroadwayWorld South Africa, 22 May 2026. https://www.broadwayworld.com/south-africa/article/SparkHub-to-Bring-Emerging-South-African-Theatre-Makers-to-National-Arts-Festival-20260522

2026. 'Young, talented, underfunded: The bright sparks at the theatre's fringe', Daily Maverick, 22 June 2026. https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-06-22-young-talented-underfunded-the-bright-sparks-at-the-theatres-fringe/

'Messy', National Arts Festival. https://tickets.nationalartsfestival.co.za/en/events/943/messy

'Our Story' and 'Meet The Team', Spark in the Dark. https://sparkinthedark.co.za/our-story/ ; https://sparkinthedark.co.za/meet-the-team/

Sophie Joans. https://sophiejoans.com/

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