Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

Friday

As Hey Hillbrow! Let's Dlala! returns for its seventh edition, hundreds of young people will transform the inner city's streets into a celebration of freedom, reimagining Hillbrow through art, play and the enduring legacy of the 1956 Women's March

Hillbrow's streets become a stage for freedom before Women's Day

As debates around urban belonging continue, a Johannesburg arts project, Hey Hillbrow! Let's Dlala!, responds with song, costume, and collective imagination. On 8 August, over…

Storytelling: Chasing Laughter is one of five productions that will
feature in the four-day programme. Photo: Supplied

Gig Guide: Vusi Mahlasela at Jozi Gold, Amy Jephta brings A Good House to the Market Theatre and TX Theatre Hub returns to The Market Theatre

Johannesburg's cultural calendar is packed with must-see events! The TX Theatre Hub Festival returns to The Market Theatre with award-winning productions, music legend Vusi…

Self-discovery: Black Burns Fast's Esihle Ndleleni, director Sandulela Asanda and Khensani Khosa. Photo: Supplied

‘Black Burns Fast’ is a whimsical love letter to Black girlhood

In a media landscape often criticised for its misrepresentation of Black women and girls, Sandulela Asanda's debut feature, 'Black Burns Fast', emerges as a refreshing…

Familiar luxury: Sarah Langa says her ambition is to develop what she describes as "an African home" and, eventually, an African design philosophy. Photo: Supplied

Sarah Langa wants African homes to tell African stories

After more than a decade as a pioneering content creator in fashion, Sarah Langa is now making waves in interior design. She's drawing on local materials, traditional…

Timeless: The star cast in The Odyssey includes Matt Damon and Zendaya. Photo: Supplied

In Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’, civilisation’s greatest threat comes from within

Christopher Nolan's latest film, 'The Odyssey', transforms an ancient myth into a timely exploration of war, xenophobia, and the internal struggles of its protagonists. Discover…

In time: Ushering the performers into movement is a pulsating percussive soundscape from which the work is grounded and erupts. Photos: Zivanai Matangi

The body remembers what labour takes

Explore 'Izithukuthuku: The Tattered Soul of the Worker', a powerful dance theatre production that uses isiPantsula to critique the violence of capitalism and the emotional toll…

Opportunity for more: Whether for television or the big screen, the line wasn't exactly drawn but the message was clear: lobby an industry that is sitting on gems worthy of a repeat of The Polygamist. Photos: File

Can ‘The Polygamist’ open the door for more Zimbabwean adaptations?

Following the global success of Sue Nyathi's 'The Polygamist' on Netflix, Zimbabweans are calling for more local novels to be adapted for screen. However, industry players…

Zoë Modiga performing at the Homecoming Centrein Cape Town.Photo: Mageba OSoft Courtesy of Yelloëwax

Zoë Modiga turns Cape Town’s homecoming centre into a congregation

Pioneering singer-songwriter Zoë Modiga stunned Cape Town audiences with the launch of her self-produced fourth studio album, 'The Vault'. The experimental masterpiece, part of…

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is built around one of humanity’s oldest stories: war, separation, endurance and the longing to return home.

The displaced people left outside Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’

Filming Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey' in Western Sahara, a disputed territory, raises ethical questions about cultural representation and the visibility of the Sahrawi…

Formula 1's luxury makeover is about more than champagne

Formula 1 is increasingly selling luxury, a shift prominently displayed at the 2026 Belgian Grand Prix. Moët & Chandon, in its second year as title sponsor under LVMH's…

Let Mandela speak for himself

More than a decade after his passing, a new documentary, 'Troublemaker: The Story Behind the Mandela Tapes', offers a fresh perspective on Nelson Mandela. Built around over 70…

Francois van Coke on fatherhood, Fokofpolisiekar and finding new space

Francois van Coke, frontman of Fokofpolisiekar and a successful solo artist, reflects on how fatherhood has reshaped his songwriting, his Sama-nominated album 'Die Ruimte', and…

Why Muofhe Manavhela wants SA's art world to return to Venda

Artist Muofhe Manavhela is spearheading a movement to reverse the traditional flow of South African art, inviting artists, curators, and cultural enthusiasts to Venda. Her…

Zanele Muholi’s 20-year fight against forgetting

World-renowned visual activist Zanele Muholi's latest solo exhibition, 'Kanye Nawe', opens at Southern Guild Cape Town. The show spans two decades of their practice, including…

Interpretation: Instead of offering fixed meanings, Bronwyn Katz creates space for conversation between the artwork, the material and the person standing before it. Photo: Supplied

Bronwyn Katz digs beneath the surface to uncover stories held by the land

Bronwyn Katz, the 2026 Standard Bank Young Artist for Visual Arts, creates sculptures and installations that delve into ancestral memory, the history of Kimberley, and the quiet…

Gig Guide: Mpho.Wav reworks Bongi Dube's Go Around, Linda Sikhakhane to perform at Jozi Gold Brewing Company and Gospel Music Spotlight returns

Mpho.Wav is set to release his Afro House remix of Bongi Dube’s classic “Go Around” on July 24. Jazz saxophonist Linda Sikhakhane will perform at Jozi Gold Brewing Company on…

South African cinema is embracing stories that don't fit into one box

If there is one thing this month's line-up of South African films proves, it's that local cinema has stopped trying to be one thing. For years, South African films were often…

Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Awards 2026 finalists celebrate South Africa's boldest women entrepreneurs

South Africa's entrepreneurial landscape has long celebrated disruption. But the finalists announced for the fifth Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Awards suggest that the country's…

Peach van Pletzen is balancing the joy and the dread

South African music maestro Peach van Pletzen discusses his group Van Pletzen's new album 'Benaaihilism', a maximalist electronic dance music anthem. He shares insights into his…

The pan-African story of South African cinema

Joburg Film Festival curator Nhlanhla Ndaba delves into the profound pan-African influences that have shaped South African cinema, from the era of exile and anti-colonial…