Mandela began previews at the Young Vic Theatre, London on 30 November 2022, with an opening night on 8 December.
A large number of performances were cancelled due to unprecedented levels of illness.
[2] Cast member Adam Pearce suffered a stroke following a performance, which attracted wide-spread coverage of a fundraiser to aide his recovery.
Mandela had direction by Schele Williams and choreography by Gregory Maqoma, with additional music & lyrics by Bongi Duma.
Orchestrations were by Sam Young, and Sean Mayes served as musical director for the production.