Newtown is a cultural precinct in the western CBD, built around a cluster of institutions that survived and in some cases defined the apartheid era. The Market Theatre is its centrepiece — South Africa's most historically significant venue for drama, where banned and controversial work was staged when it could not be shown elsewhere. The Museum Africa (the city's main history museum, housed in a former fruit market) and the Sci-Bono Discovery Centre occupy nearby buildings.
The precinct has been through various waves of regeneration with mixed results. It is a destination rather than a neighbourhood — you come for a specific thing, see it, and leave. On performance nights the Market Theatre area is reasonably animated; outside those hours it is quiet and you should take the usual Johannesburg precautions. The Newtown Junction mall provides shops and parking. Take Uber — there is no easy walking route from anywhere.