Litnet

Award-winning playwright and director Louis Viljoen’s new gripping tale, The sin drinkers, explores broken people on an intoxicated journey in pursuit of redemption. The sin drinkers premieres at the Baxter’s Masambe Theatre from 23 April to 11 May 2024.

The Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is presenting the Time of the Writer festival from 14 to 21 March. A noteworthy focus will be on literary legacies, inviting festival attendees to engage in profound reflections on the significance of literary legacies in our ever-evolving world.

The newly constituted IMAI Trio brings together three close colleagues, each a prominent SA musician in their own right – clarinetist Annelize de Villiers, conductor and bassoonist Brandon Phillips, and pianist José Dias. | Hierdie konsert beloof om ’n musikale hoogtepunt te wees.

"In a bid to understand the process, nuances, motives and challenges of the process while also uncovering the politics of language, Philani A Nyoni converses with Ignatius Mabasa, the man who translated Nervous conditions into Shona."

The judging panel of the annual Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards, sponsored by Heineken Beverages, is proud to announce the recipients of the special awards for 2024, ahead of the gala event on 17 March.

"So, you can well imagine my absolute delight when a pristine, popular, illustrated account of the Boer War, which had lain unread in a Welsh attic for over 100 years, was gifted to me by a good friend recently. This contained the photo of Kruger proudly and romantically advertising his earring, like a latter day Raleigh, or Drake."

The Masque is excited to be celebrating Take a child to the theatre Day this year with an exciting event aimed at letting children experience a real theatre. The event is a collaboration between The Masque and Spotlight Youth Theatre. This special event takes place on Wednesday 20 March and is free to attend.

"Acknowledging the work of independent theatre makers at awards events like the one in Tembisa is important. Firstly, it validates their contributions to the cultural landscape, recognising their creativity and talent. Secondly, it provides them with exposure and opportunities for networking, funding and future collaborations. Additionally, celebrating independent theatre helps to diversify the arts scene, ensuring that a variety of voices and perspectives are heard and appreciated."

Physically charged and visually striking, the work is conceived and choreographed by the internationally renowned Gregory Vuyani Maqoma, and performed by the Vuyani Dance Theatre. It draws inspiration from author Zakes Mda’s novel, Cion, and music from French composer Maurice Ravel’s Boléro. It’s a universal story encompassing the past and the present that champions our ability to band together to share the burden of grief.

"The reign of these juggernauts was quite a golden age, but not without its problems."

"Their concerns about diminishing state debt are well motivated and should be taken seriously, and their manifesto includes much of interest and many good ideas. But the last bolts need tightening, the final budget needs better costing, and they should give us, even if in appendices, much more detail about their thinking."

During the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, 17 and 18 March, attendees are invited to explore the complexities of democracy and the different aspects of what builds a democratic society. This year’s programme features various dimensions of reflection on a free and just society through a literary lens.

South African authors, readers and stakeholders in the book industry note with grave concern that the Copyright Amendment Bill is scheduled for concurrence by the National Assembly on 29 February 2024. Read the views of Gabeba Baderoon, Sihle Khumalo, Sihawukele Ngubane, Athol Fugard, Breyten Breytenbach, Jaco Jacobs, Margie Orford, Fanie Viljoen and Tannie Evita Bezuidenhout. You may join in voicing your concern by adding you signature to the online petition.

“Last year was a year of exceptional theatre,” said Africa Melane, panel chair of the annual Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards, before announcing the finalists last week.

"From the start, Hannah Borthwick’s phenomenal performance as Juliet’s nurse stole the show. I hung on her every word and drank in her mannerisms with great enjoyment, while all the while a flicker of recognition flashed at the back of my mind. She is the daughter of South African veterans Rika Sennet and James Borthwick, and by all accounts destined to become a household name herself."

"Here, on the southern tip of Africa, political commentators, journalists, authors, philosophers, economists, thinkers and columnists unanimously agree that the 29 May 2024 election in South Africa will be a make-or-break event."

The Western Cape’s greatest staging of fresh, innovative developmental theatre – the Baxter Zabalaza Theatre Festival – comes alive with a wide variety of productions, from 8 to 16 March 2024.

The bill will deprive local creatives of existing rights and income streams. Further, the local book industry will suffer, with projections of a 33% decrease in book sales and a 30% decline in employment if these provisions should become law. 

"The title, Mirror, refers to the water’s surface as a physical mirror reflecting the surrounding elements, be it the sky, the weather, rock, or architectural structures. This mirror, when clear, also reveals the hidden worlds beneath the water."

"Shaw provides excellent evidence to show that wherever and whenever different societal agents and agencies started moving towards cooperation and collaboration, they started becoming effective. When the agencies of the state started talking to one another and when leadership compelled the institutional actors to collaborate, the situation changed positively."