A theatrical memoir that cuts deep
Aldo Brincat’s solo masterpiece, The Moon Looks Delicious From Here, is not just a performance — it’s a reckoning. Deeply autobiographical and fiercely intimate, the play traces the personal and political evolution of a first-generation South African navigating the messy intersection of identity, migration, and belonging.
Set against the backdrop of 1970s–80s apartheid South Africa, the 70-minute one-man performance journeys through Brincat’s own lineage, which includes Mauritian, Egyptian, and Maltese roots, reflecting on how diasporic roots and queer identity shaped his sense of self in a volatile nation.
At its core, the piece is a moving portrait of a father and son, two men from different worlds and timelines, connected by blood yet often estranged by culture, politics, and belief. Brincat effortlessly transforms into a gallery of characters from his childhood: family members, neighbours, teachers, each evoking the personal cost of fitting in while standing out.
Directed by experimental theatre-maker Sjaka Septembir, and featuring an emotionally charged soundscape by celebrated musician Bongeziwe Mabandla, the play eschews sentimentality in favour of raw honesty and poetic resonance.
The Moon Looks Delicious From Here
Venue: The Market Theatre, Johannesburg
Dates: 9 – 27 July 2025
Written & Performed by: Aldo Brincat
Directed by: Sjaka Septembir
Music by: Bongeziwe Mabandla
Accolades:
Winner: Standard Bank Silver Ovation Award, National Arts Festival, Makhanda (2024)
Winner: Special Jury Award, Bitesize Theatre Festival, London (2024
Why It Matters
This production arrives at a timely moment in South Africa’s cultural discourse, as migration, queerness, language, and memory become focal points of national and global identity conversations. Brincat does not just tell his story — he invites audiences to confront their own.
The layered narrative reveals the emotional violence of othering, as well as the tenderness of finding one’s identity. Through sharp shifts in tone from humour to heartbreak, Brincat captures what it means to grow up in the shadows of histories both inherited and imposed.