Poet and writer Napo Masheane is set to make history when she becomes the first black female director to have her show featured on the Market Theatre's main stage, the John Kani Theatre.

The coveted venue is known for featuring shows by white male and female directors as well as black male directors like John Kani and James Ngcobo.

Masheane will present her latest show, A New Song, from October 28 to November 1 at the 450-seater theatre in Newtown, Johannesburg.

Other black women who have had shows at the Market, albeit in the fringes, are Bongi Ndaba with Shreds and Dreams and Khutjo Greenwith Have You Seen Zandile, among others.

For Masheane, who started writing and directing 15 years ago, it has been a lonely and difficult journey to where she is now as she tried to fight for recognition. Her patience and tolerance have paid off. "I'm happy and humbled by this. I'm ready to sit among the audience and watch the show directed by me with them," she says.

"I have waited for years for this to happen. I'm ready and actually don't feel any pressure because of the struggles I have been through."

Masheane wants to set the bar high.

"I have to embrace this challenge with both hands. There is no room for fumbling and mistakes. I have to get everything right."

Before the play was given the green light by the Market Theatre, it went for a reading at the Royal Court Theatre in London to a packed house. It was also read at the Market Theatre in June before landing the prestigious spot.

Masheane says when her show opens she will be representing all black female directors, and women in general.

A New Song features theatre stars such as Sibulele Gcilitshana, Thami Baleka, Jana Oosthuizen, Lichelelle Lerm, Pearl Noxolo Monama, Naledi Mabeleng, Vernicha Coetzee and Aneshree Paul plus an acappella group called Beyond Vocal.

Unlike her previous plays, this one is not about looks or women's weight issues. Masheane, who has been called a feminist because of the texture of her stories, will for the first time feature men in her production.

"I am not a feminist. I am raising two beautiful boys. I love our black men," she says.

A New Song is set in a middle class Johannesburg suburb during the apartheid era. It features eight domestic workers and is about them juggling the struggle, their madams and motherhood.

The story is inspired by her grandparents who were domestic workers.

Masheane has published two poetry anthologies and in theatre she has written and directed shows like My Bum Is Genetic Deal With It and The Fat Black Women Sing.