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Stories Set in Johannesburg
Johannesburg is a high inland city on the Witwatersrand ridge, built fast after the 1886 gold discovery. Migrant labor, township growth and the 1976 Soweto student uprising against apartheid schooling made it a center for protest writing and music. Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood recalls its streets, while Losing Lerato follows a father in its suburbs. Open Johannesburg on the StoryTerra map and filter its stories by any era.
Open Johannesburg on the StoryTerra map10 famous stories set in Johannesburg
Live snapshot of the top 10 most popular catalogue items (2026-09-05). Click any card to open this entry on the live map.
Browse 9 books and 12 movies set in Johannesburg.
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood
The memoir of one man’s coming-of-age, set during the twilight of apartheid and the tumultuous days of freedom that followed. Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began…
Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger
An HBO special edited from three performances from Chris Rock's 2008 comedy tour: London (dark suit dark shirt) Johannesburg (black suit white shirt) and New York (shiny jacket). Topics include the ongoing presidential…
Losing Lerato
Thami has recently lost his job at a top firm following accusations of fraudulent activities. This is the last straw for his wife Noluthando who fearing a drop in her standard of living abandons her marriage taking…
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Precious Ramotswe has only just set up shop as Botswana's No.1 (and only) lady detective when she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. However, the case that tugs…
Flatfoot in Africa
Inspector Rizzo in Napoli gets a message from a policeman from South Africa who wants to meet him. Immediately before this meeting the south African policeman is killed. Dying he shows Rizzo a picture of his little son…
Gangster's Paradise: Jerusalema
This South African movie tracks the rise of a once-petty criminal to the heights of the criminal underworld. After cutting his teeth on hijacking before moving onto bigger game an ambitious man hits a setback when most…
The Man in the Brown Suit
Newly-orphaned Anne Beddingfeld is a nice English girl looking for a bit of adventure in London. But she stumbles upon more than she bargained for! Anne is on the platform at Hyde Park Corner tube station when a man…
Louis Theroux: Law and Disorder in Johannesburg
Louis Theroux travels to Johannesburg where the residents find themselves increasingly besieged by crime as he looks at the issue of law and disorder.
A World Apart
A White enclave in Johannesburg South Africa in the 1960s. Molly Roth 13 years old is the daughter of leftist parents and she must piece together what's happening around her when her father disappears one night barely…
National Theatre Live: Barber Shop Chronicles
For generations African men have gathered in barber shops to discuss the world. These are places where the banter can be barbed and the truth is always telling. Follow along as we leap from a barber shop in Peckham to…
The 10 stories above are just a sample of the 21 in the catalogue for this entry. For the full live catalogue, open Johannesburg in the StoryTerra app. On the live map you can also filter by the exact time the stories take place — any year, decade or century, from BCE to the future.