Ama Qamata takes the London stage as Zambia's space dream lands at the Royal Court
The South African actress plays Matha in The Afronauts, a new play drawn from Zambia's 1960s space programme, running at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from 14 November to 19 December 2026.
South African actress Ama Qamata makes her UK theatre debut this month, playing the lead role of Matha in The Afronauts at London’s Royal Court Theatre. The production runs at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs from 14 November to 19 December 2026.
As Sunday World reported on 5 November, the casting marks a move from screen to live stage for the actress, who is known to South African audiences for Blood & Water and Gomora.
The Afronauts is written by Ryan Calais Cameron and co-directed by Cameron and Monique Touko. It takes its inspiration from Zambia’s space programme of the 1960s, and is set in Zambia in 1964. According to the production’s own description, the play explores ambition, possibility and the determination to imagine a future beyond the limits imposed by others.
Qamata is not the only South African name on the bill. She joins an ensemble that includes Lucian Msamati, Ivanno Jeremiah and Pamela Nomvete, a cast that gives the London run a strong southern African centre of gravity.
The Royal Court is one of the rooms where new writing is made and argued over in the English-speaking theatre, and the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs is its main house. A leading role there is a different kind of test from a television set. The work is live, the run is fixed, and the performance is rebuilt in front of an audience every night.
For Qamata, the role follows a period in which she has moved beyond acting alone. She stars as Safi in Fight Like a Girl and also serves as the film’s co-producer. The film follows a young Congolese woman who escapes forced labour at an illegal mineral mine and begins rebuilding her life after joining an all-women’s boxing club in Goma. It is inspired by a real-life women’s boxing club, and explores healing, resilience and the experiences of women affected by conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
That work brought her international recognition, including a Rising Star Award at the Naples International Film Festival and a Best Actress nomination at the Africa Movie Academy Awards. In September she represented South Africa at Le Défilé L’Oréal Paris, an event celebrating women’s empowerment, confidence and self-worth, alongside figures including Eva Longoria, Viola Davis and Kendall Jenner.
The Afronauts runs at the Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, Royal Court Theatre, London, from 14 November to 19 December 2026.
