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Mail & Guardian
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ARTS AND CULTURE

The National Arts Festival is alive but is South Africa listening

Despite initial quiet streets and financial pressures, the National Arts Festival in Makhanda is buzzing with activity, showcasing strong audience numbers and a significant shift…

  • Unathi Kondile
8 min read
MUSIC

Gig Guide: Somi releases Sometimes Love, Woza Albert! returns to The Market Theatre, Lady Zamar returns with First Class and Mandisi Dyantyis brings Symphony to Montecasino

Dive into the latest in South African arts and culture! Somi teases her new album with 'Sometimes Love', Lady Zamar celebrates joy with 'First Class', and the iconic 'Woza…

  • Lesego Chepape
2 min read
Timeless: The epic quality of the reimagining matches the themes of the ancient play produced in 405 BC and how they speak to Africa. Photos: Lauge Sorensen
BALLET

Mthuthuzeli November reimagines ‘The Bacchae’ as an African choral ballet

South African dance phenom Mthuthuzeli November commands the rehearsal room with gentle authority. The choreographic language he’s created melds the controlled structure of…

  • Kgomotso Moncho Maripane
7 min read
That terrible day: Rise ‘76: The Story of June 16th at the Market Theatre is at the Mannie Manim Theatre until 28 June. Photos: Supplied
SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY

Fifty years on, ‘Rise '76’ asks what we still owe the generation of June 16th

Running at the Market Theatre, 'Rise '76: The Story of June 16th' explores the profound impact of the Soweto Uprising through the lens of playwright Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni.…

  • Kibo Ngowi
9 min read
Through interviews and behind-the-scenes discussions, Spotlight Theatre Talk explores the people and processes that bring productions to life
ARTISTS

Joburg Theatre launches podcast to take audiences behind the curtain

Through interviews and behind-the-scenes discussions, Spotlight Theatre Talk explores the people and processes that bring productions to life

  • Kibo Ngowi
4 min read
The Cape Town theatre complex celebrates its 55th anniversary by reflecting on transformation, accessibility and the evolving role of public cultural institutions
ACCESSIBILITY

Artscape celebrates 55 years by opening its doors wider than ever

The Cape Town theatre complex celebrates its 55th anniversary by reflecting on transformation, accessibility and the evolving role of public cultural institutions

  • Kibo Ngowi
4 min read
A visually arresting, multidisciplinary spectacle challenges both narrative clarity and audience comfort, raising questions about how theatre must evolve for modern spectators
ARTS AND CULTURE

‘mAnJE! MaNJe (an epic)’ demands prompt attention at The Baxter

A visually arresting, multidisciplinary spectacle challenges both narrative clarity and audience comfort, raising questions about how theatre must evolve for modern spectators

  • Unathi Kondile
4 min read
Mirroring the past: At times, the actors in Under the Shade of a Tree I Sat and Wept step out of their roles entirely, debating the material they are performing, questioning its meaning or even its validity. It’s here that the play’s meta-theatrical dimension comes into focus. Photo: Thandile Zwebanzi
APARTHEID

What does it mean to forgive? A play asks, 30 years after the TRC

Drawing from archives and lived experience, the international production probes the emotional and political complexities of reconciliation in a fractured world

  • Kibo Ngowi
6 min read
Smooth ’90s: Boyz II Men’s tour promises an unforgettable night of romance, rhythm and vocal brilliance. Photo: Supplied
BOYZ II MEN

Gig Guide: Boyz II Men return to South Africa, Giselle makes its way to the State Theatre and Rubicon showcases fashion with a purpose

Your essential dose of art and culture

  • Lesego Chepape
2 min read
Dance is music: Lighting by Oliver Hauser and set design by Willy Cesar foreground space, line and form. Everything, Maqoma says, is architectural. Photo: Arthur Dlamini
AFRICAN PERFORMANCE

Gregory Maqoma’s ‘Genesis’ is not an ending

The renowned choreographer returns to the Baxter not as performer but architect, with Genesis, a daring meditation on beginnings, endings and Black consciousness

  • Lesego Chepape
7 min read
Smooth jazz: Gregory Porter music bridges eras and emotions with sincerity and grace. Photo: Erik Umphery
AFRICAN HERITAGE

Diary: Gregory Porter in SA; Zeitz MOCAA symposium; DJ Bob Jazz Club

Your essential dose of art and culture

  • Busi Lethole
  • Kibo Ngowi
2 min read
Moving: Multi-disciplinary artist Aldo Brincat’s The Moon Looks Delicious From Here is a semi-autobiographical story.
ALSO BRINTCAT

Diary: Aldo Brincat at the Market Theatre, NYO Jazz releases new album and Kabza De Small set to release Kabza Chant 2.0

Your essential dose of art and culture

  • Lesego Chepape
2 min read
John Kani in Nothing But The Truth. (Photo supplied)
APARTHEID

Acts of resistance: The Market Theatre’s enduring power 49 years on

A stage where South Africa’s truth and imagination have lived for 49 fearless years

  • Lesego Chepape
5 min read
Taking off: Alice Viskat’s Flughafen is playing in Scotland.
BELEDE

Diary: 2025 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Fête de la Musique returns to Victoria Yards and Thandiswa Mazwai brings Belede and Sankofa to The Lyric Theatre

Your essential dose of art and culture

  • Lesego Chepape
2 min read
Miriam Altman
ART SCENE SOUTH AFRICA

Diary: The Black Circus of the Republic of Bantu, Rowlene’s Moments After and Altman’s take on Stevie Wonder

Your essential dose of art and culture

  • Lesego Chepape
2 min read
Circle of life: Producer, songwriter and vocalist Lebo M, known for his work on The Lion King, is holding a concert in Cape Town on 18 April. Mi Casa, Soweto Gospel Choir and German film-score composer Hans Zimmer will be among the guests. Photo: Lesedi FM
CAPE TOWN

Lebo M’s legacy goes live

The multi-talented South African musician is set to celebrate his career with a performance in Cape Town

  • Lesego Chepape
5 min read
Sea change: A scene from the musical theatre production Requiem for the Impossible.
AFFECT LAB

The sea takes, the stage remembers

Production is a poetic, immersive elegy which turns loss at sea into theatre’s most powerful tide

  • Sean O Toole
3 min read
ART

Diary: Investec Cape Town Art Fair, Protest theatre classic returns, Ayanda Jiya in Durban

Your essential dose of art and culture

  • Kibo Ngowi
2 min read
Kneedy: Janice Honeyman’s pantomime Beauty and the Beast is being staged at the Joburg Theatre. Photo: Corne du Plessis
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

Pantomime: The beauty of festive storytelling

Janice Honeyman’s production brings magic to Joburg audiences

  • Keitumetse Modise
3 min read
Monkeying around: Andrew Buckland performs in Simon’s Town during the June tour of Unruly, a production aimed at helping to understand a divisive human-versus-animal battle on the Cape Peninsula. Photos: Odendaal Esterhuyse
ACTOR

A new species of performance for unruly play about Cape’s human-baboon conflict

Theatre offers an unlikely space for Cape Peninsula communities to connect and deal with the problem of living with baboons

  • Isabel Olson
8 min read