Don’t Miss This: May 1 – 7

MASERU

• Rapper HHP and musicians Thandiswa Mazwai, Phuzekhemisi, Tsepo Tshola and Mantsa will be among those performing at the first ever Ancestral Collective Difaqane-Mfecane Music Festival. It also features other artists from Lesotho and South Africa. Themed around heritage, culture and tradition, the festival aims to pay tribute to history and to celebrate different cultures. The name of the festival comes from the words difaqane (or lifaqane) and mfecane, which refers to a period of “widespread chaos and disturbance in Southern Africa” between 1815 and 1840. WHEN May 2 from 2pm – 10pm WHERE Thaba Bosiu, Maseru. INFO Tickets cost R150 to R200 via Computicket, Shoprite Checkers and at the gate. Visit ancestralcollective.com and follow @LifaqaneMfecane on Twitter.

Giveaway
The M&G Friday and Ancestral Collective are giving away two double tickets to the Lifaqane-Mfecane Music Festival on Saturday, May 2, at Thaba-Bosiu, in Maseru, Lesotho. 

To win, like M&G Friday’s Facebook page (if you haven’t already) and share this post on Facebook.  

*Tickets are only for entry into Lifaqane-Mfecane Music Festival and do not cover accommodation, meals and transportation.

JOHANNESBURG

• Thenx, a sketch comedy group made up of four actresses, presents The Triple M Mammas, a show about the lives of four women who run a stokvel that caters for the community. It is a satirical production inspired by shows such as The Pure Monate Show and Late Night News with Loyiso Gola. WHEN May 1 to 2 at 8pm and May 3 at 3:30pm. WHERE Pop Art (Maboneng). COST Online (R80) and at the door (R95). INFO Visit popartcentre.co.za

• Athol Fugard’s 1968 play, People Are Living There, returns to the stage. The play, directed by André Odendaal and known as “one of only two Fugard plays that do not concern apartheid or township life”, tells the story of four downtrodden people living in the centre of Johannesburg. The 50-year-old landlady Milly and her lodgers Don, Shorty and Sissy, deal with the isolation and frustration in their lives. The cast includes Anna-Mart van der Merwe, Carel Nel, Dania Gelderblom and Francois Jacobs. WHEN Until May 24, Tuesdays to Saturdays at 8.15pm and Sundays at 3.30pm. WHERE The Market Theatre. INFO Tickets available at Computicket.

• The authors Helon Habila (Nigeria) and Nthikeng Mohlele (South Africa) will share their texts and let readers take part in a discussion about their writing routines at the conversational Literary Crossroads: From Faction to Fiction session. Habila is an associate professor of creative writing at George Mason University in the United States and Mohlele has published two novels, The Sense of Bliss (2008) and Small Things (2014). WHEN May 7 at 7pm. WHERE Goethe-Institut, 119 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood. COST Free. INFO Visit goethe.de/johannesburg

• The recently launched Mzansi Music Ensemble is a 22-piece band that will pay tribute to the late composer, band leader and bassist Victor Ntoni. The band will be joined on stage by acts such as poet and singer Jessica Mbangeni, saxophonist and mentor Barney Rachabane and saxophonist Sisonke Xonti, and will be conducted by musical director Prince Lengoasa. Ntoni mentored some of the artists who make up the ensemble, an initiative of his that was founded by Gauteng Music Development. The ensemble, which aims to promote awareness of “proudly South African” music, incorporates poetry, praise singing and improvisation. WHEN May 6 to 9 at 8pm. WHERE The Market Theatre. INFO Tickets are available via Computicket or visit gautengmusicdev.co.za

CAPE TOWN

• Acclaimed choreographer and producer Glenda Jones, who brought audiences Raw Silk in 2013, is back with a dance production titled Cinnamon. Jones is known for founding the dance company Afrika Ablaze. The dance production is fused with drama and music. WHEN April 28 to May 2 at 8pm. WHERE The Baxter Theatre. INFO Tickets range from R70 to R100. Visit www.baxter.co.za

• Described as “a night of classic NYC cabaret”, the Robin Botha: Live at Parlour Songs show promises to take audiences on a musical journey to New York City. Botha, who won the 2012 Fleur du Cap award for the best actress in a musical, is an esteemed soprano who has starred in the theatre musical, Phantom of the Opera. She will be joined on stage by special guest musicians, as well as a New York musical director, Drew Rienstra, on the piano. WHEN May 7 at 7pm. WHERE Play Club, Miao, 20 Jarvis Street. INFO General admission is R80 and 25-year-olds and under R40 via quicket.co.za

• Emily Child stars in the 2015 Fleur du Cap award-winning play, The Pervert Laura, which follows “30-year-old Laura through a week in her life”. Laura, “in conversations with her therapist, reveals herself to be a woman on the road to absolute self-annihilation”. The play is described as an “uncomfortable journey into the dark heart of a woman’s past”. Playwright Louis Viljoen received the Fleur du Cap theatre best new director award for his work on this production that premiered in December last year. WHEN May 6 to 23 at 8pm from Tuesday to Thursday. WHERE The Fugard Studio Theatre. INFO Tickets cost R130 via thefugard.com. The Pervert Laura contains explicit language and nudity.

• The artistic director and choreographer of the Royal Moscow Ballet Theatre’s The Crown of the Russian Ballet, Anatoly Emelianov, has put together “a special programme for South Africa devoted to Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, with 2015 marking the 175th anniversary his birth. WHEN May 6 at 7.30pm. WHERE The Baxter Theatre. INFO Tickets range from R150 to R280 via Computicket. Visit baxter.co.za

DURBAN

•  International hip-hop artist Rick Ross will headline the second annual Youth Hip-Hop Festival, which features the finest of local music acts such as Khuli Chana, Casper Nyovest, Cashtime Fam, Dream Team, Kwesta, and DJs Tira and C-Live. The MCs will be Mzokoloko and Scoop Makhathini. WHEN May 2. WHERE Moses Mabhida Stadium, People’s Park East. INFO Tickets cost R380 and R800 for VIP. Follow @youthhiphopfest on Twitter.

UMHLANGA

• Rock band Just Jinjer will take to the stage at the Umhlanga Food and Music festival. Other music acts on the festival line-up include Majozi and the Kickstands. The festival features more than 30 artisanal food stalls and craft beer. WHEN May 2 at 12pm. WHERE Chris Saunders Park. INFO Tickets range from R100 to R150 via Computicket.