The magic of Madame Zingara
In this jaded world that we live in, occasionally something so wonderful comes along that you simply have to participate… The Royal Countess Zingara is just such an experience!!
Step through the doors of the Spiegeltent and leave the ordinary world behind. Inside, dinner becomes theatre, theatre becomes fantasy, and fantasy feels wonderfully real. Surrounded by velvet, mirrors, music and impossible feats of human performance, Madame Zingara creates the kind of evening that feels less like going out to dinner and more like stepping inside a dream. For one unforgettable evening, ordinary life is replaced by magic.
Inside, reality becomes deliberately theatrical. Music, lights, costumes, acrobatics, comedy, dance and spectacle are woven around the diners, so that the audience isn’t simply watching a show – they become part of the world being created around them. There is something wonderfully old-world and romantic about it: the glamour of a travelling European circus, the exuberance of cabaret, the intimacy of a Victorian theatre and the escapism of a fairytale. And then there is the food. Dinner is not an interruption to the entertainment; it is part of the experience. Courses arrive as the performance unfolds, creating a seamless evening in which dining and theatre become one theatrical journey.
From the moment you arrive, the prosaic world seems to fall away. The Spiegeltent itself is part of the fantasy: an ornate, intimate travelling theatre of mirrors, velvet, timber and stained glass that feels as though it has arrived from another era. Perhaps because it has…
The Spiegeltent, which translates from Dutch as mirror tent, is one of Europe’s most enchanting contributions to the history of entertainment. Part travelling dance hall, part cabaret theatre and part architectural masterpiece, these ornate, portable structures emerged in Belgium in the late 19th century and flourished during the early decades of the 20th century. Unlike ordinary circus tents, Spiegeltents were designed to be beautiful, intimate and luxurious. With polished mirrors, stained-glass windows, carved timber, velvet upholstery and atmospheric lighting, they became gathering places for dancing, music, romance, cabaret and theatrical entertainment. Their appeal lay in the sense of stepping into another world – a tradition that continues today in productions such as Madam Zingara in South Africa. The mirrors were particularly important. They reflected candlelight, gaslight and later electric lighting, creating the illusion of a much larger, shimmering space.
Madame Zingara began life in 2001 as a bohemian 80-seater restaurant on Cape Town’s Loop Street, founded by entrepreneur Richard Griffin. Conceived as a celebration of excess, eccentricity and whimsy, it quickly became an iconic Cape Town institution, with 13 uniquely themed dining rooms filled with art, colourful characters and theatrical touches. But in late 2006, disaster struck when a devastating fire, believed to have been caused by an electrical fault, completely destroyed the restaurant – forcing Madame Zingara to reinvent itself and ultimately leading to the spectacular travelling Spiegeltent experience it is known for today. Following the devastating fire, Madame Zingara was reborn in spectacular fashion. Griffin discovered a magnificent 19th-century Belgian Spiegeltent and transformed the concept into the legendary Theatre of Dreams. Dinner became an extravagant circus of aerialists, acrobats, cabaret and international performers, as the tent travelled across South Africa from Cape Town to Johannesburg and Durban. The brand has since enjoyed a revival as the Royal Countess Zingara, continuing its tradition of theatrical dining, fantasy and larger-than-life entertainment. The historic Belgian Spiegeltents used for Royal Countess Zingara (formerly Madame Zingara) are assembled without any nails or bolts- relying entirely on an interlocking system of hinges, pins, and wooden joints. This allows the entire 3,000-piece structure to fit together like a giant jigsaw puzzle.
Within The Royal Countess Zingara, the theatrical experience extends beyond the circus ring into the more intimate, eccentric corners of the Spiegeltent, including tarot reading and the Bijou Boutique. The tarot reading adds another layer of old-world mystique to the evening. Rather than simply being an entertainment attraction, it fits naturally into Zingara’s atmosphere of fortune tellers, magic and theatrical fantasy. Guests can step away from the spectacle for a more personal encounter, where the cards become another form of storytelling – mysterious, playful and just ambiguous enough to invite a little belief.
The Bijou Boutique, meanwhile, continues the sense of fantasy beyond the performance itself. It is a small, jewel-box-like retail space where guests can browse unusual, theatrical and whimsical pieces. The boutique feels less like conventional merchandise and more like an extension of the Zingara universe: colourful, eccentric and designed to offer visitors a tangible reminder of the evening.
The Royal Countess Zingara acts change on both a short-term and long-term basis to keep the dinner-cirque experience dynamic and fresh for returning audiences. The current Johannesburg Zingara is not really a conventional circus cast. It is deliberately assembled from different performance disciplines: circus + cabaret + musical theatre + comedy + character acting + aerial work + contortion + live vocals. At the time of writing, the Johannesburg production brings together an eclectic international and South African cast of circus and musical talent. Argentine aerialists Juan Pablo Palacios and Victoria Perez Iacono, former Cirque du Soleil aerial-cradle specialists, deliver a breathtaking display of strength, trust and high-risk aerial artistry, while Las Vegas-based Axel Perez brings precision and danger to the stage with his remarkable rola-bola act. Johannesburg acrobat Samantha Kotze adds a distinctly South African presence, alongside contortionist Lunga and Tatiana, the mesmerising “feather girl”. The musical heart of the show is provided by vocal quartet The Clorettes – Andrea Anthony, Edith Plaatjies, Brandon Jonathan and Nazneen Abrahams – while Andile “Ace” Magxaki, as ringmaster and Sandman, provides the charisma and theatrical thread that draws the audience deeper into the fantasy. Adding another wonderfully surreal dimension is Megan, the extravagant soprano prima donna, and a spectacular new bathtub aerial-straps act by British performer Jonny Grundy and Italian Manuel Artino. A truly talented international lineup. Photos were discouraged during the performance.
Guests are treated to four exquisite courses, each seamlessly choreographed into the rhythm of the evening’s performance, creating an immersive journey for both palate and soul. You didn’t watch a show and then have dinner. Dinner was part of the show. In memory of Zingara’s gypsy mother, Sweetlena, there was her classic cup of soup (a delicious hot shot glass of cauliflower & cheese sauce), served with an assortment of delectable delights from all over the world, such as red peppadews stuffed with flavoured cream cheese, cheese straws and a couple of other items. The second course was butternut ravioli, with sage and burnt butter.
The famous chocolate chilli fillet was next… A seductive blend of dark Belgian chocolate, rosemary & chilli, over succulent beef fillet on a bed of sautéed black mushrooms and arugula – served with a side of butternut and creamy potatoes.
Finally, we had a trio of small deserts: rosemary crème caramel, pear tart and coffee chocolate mousse. We couldn’t eat another morsel – and the service was simply sublime!
The waiters at The Royal Countess Zingara are deliberately dressed as characters rather than conventional restaurant staff. Their costumes form part of the theatrical world of the tent, so the distinction between waiter, performer and entertainer is intentionally blurred. Recent descriptions mention everything from pirates and poets to jesters and gentlemen, with individual servers adopting their own larger-than-life personas. The clothing is intentionally camp, colourful, extravagant and slightly anarchic rather than coordinated in the traditional sense. Our waitress was a rather different police woman…
The audience becomes part of the fantasy too. Whilst there were many people in ‘normal’ clothes, many guests arrive dressed for the occasion – which provides a fabulous ‘people-watching’ opportunity. Women in feathers, sequins, velvet, dramatic dresses and statement jewellery, men in everything from elegant suits and velvet jackets to flamboyant touches that would rarely find an excuse in ordinary life. There is no prescribed uniform, just an unspoken invitation to be bold, theatrical and a little outrageous. Inside the Spiegeltent, the boundary between audience and performers begins to blur, as the Zingarians themselves become part of the evening’s extraordinary visual spectacle.
The greatest appeal is that Madame Zingara gives people permission to play. For a few hours, you don’t have to be practical, sophisticated or restrained. You can be enchanted. You can laugh at the outrageous, marvel at the impossible and surrender to the sheer extravagance of it all. It is deliberately larger than life – flamboyant, theatrical, colourful and slightly surreal.
Perhaps that is the true magic of Madame Zingara: for a few precious hours, the real world simply disappears. Laughter rises beneath the chandeliers, performers seem to defy gravity, feathers and sequins catch the light, and the audience becomes part of the spectacle. It is extravagant, eccentric and gloriously escapist – the kind of evening that leaves you stepping back into the Johannesburg night wondering, just for a moment, whether you really were there, or had simply wandered into someone’s wonderfully elaborate dream.
Step into the dream… you won’t regret a moment!!
Jacqui Ikin & The Cross Country Team
INFO BOX:
The show is currently on in both Johannesburg and Cape Town until 30th December 2026.
Bookings: https://book.zingara.co.za/
