Litnet

"I have never been a houseworker, but I can relate to the character – from part of my responsibilities as an artist and performer – as a “space holder”: someone who holds space for people, either in grief or distress, or just in enabling them to be themselves and being able to thrive."

"The more fantasy, visual effects and large world set-ups in a story, the more it lends itself to animation. Animation makes anything possible."

Santaco has now approached the court to challenge the legality of taxis being impounded, something which the mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, seems to welcome. Freek Robinson asked Hill-Lewis: Why now? And what next?

"One of the greatest catalysts of the festival is that it broadens horizons for those who might never have known that a career in logistics, or eventing, or catering, or agriculture, or finance, was even a possibility. This, in part, motivates a focus in the hearts and minds of the learners, which leads to a positive, gainfully employed work life ahead."

"What makes the Vrystaat Arts Festival special is our commitment to showcasing a mix of established and emerging talents, creating a rich and diverse program that caters to all tastes. We pride ourselves on our community engagement initiatives, which involve local communities in co-creating elements of the festival."

Why are electric cars not the solution to South Africa’s problems right now? Is "cleaner coal" not an oxymoron? Are we doing enough to bring renewable energy into our grid? Are we going to be able to end loadshedding one day?

What are Nina Schumann’s dreams? Izak de Vries asked her that, and a few other questions.

"As they like to ask in business: is it scalable? Yes, the desired outcomes are hugely scalable."

"We need more competitions like this. It was heart-warming seeing learners from all walks of life and different cultures enjoying each other’s company and spending time together. Language can truly unite us all, even though we don’t all speak the same language; it is the differences that make life beautiful and interesting."

"Because Stof is a once-off. Dit sal nie weer opgevoer word nie."

"All characters are disturbed and have gone through trauma of some kind; only the depth varies. Nobody is born bad. What happened to her? That is why this is important."

"'Sika Lekhekhe. Knyp die kat in the donker. Wiggling the toothpick. Whatever you call it, whoever you are and whatever you’re into, let’s talk about it.' That’s what the promo pack said. Then I watched the first episode. That is why I invited Kim and Romantha for a chat – about sex, of course!"

During International Mother Tongue Language Month, Tessa Dowling talks about her love and teachings of the Xhosa language. "I was captivated by the superb sound of Xhosa and the absolute grammatical sense that it made to me! Its power to connect me to people."

Freek Robinson interviews Songezo Zibi, author of Manifesto: a new vision for South Africa (2022), about the current political situation and his view on how South Africa can be turned around.

Will other metros follow the Mother City's example? Freek Robinson interviews Geordin Hill-Lewis, the mayor of Cape Town.

"Of course I admire, study and read books from other continents, but African writing is to my mind still hugely underrated and far too little known, when there are brilliant novels of great depth and complexity produced all over our continent."

What is Boris Johnson's legacy? What lies ahead for British politics, society and foreign policy? Freek Robinson interviews John Simpson, world affairs editor of BBC News.

"Battiss is a huge subject! Briefly, he was born in Somerset East in 1906 and became South Africa’s best abstract artist. He is still considered to be our best water colour artist."

Mphuthumi Ntabeni is one of six authors currently in residence in Somerset East, courtesy of the Jakes Gerwel Foundation and PEN South Africa. His novel The wanderers is on the long list for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize.

"I’m blown away and I feel so honoured. When I left KwaSizabantu back in 1993, there was very little support available to survivors of cultic and coercive groups. It was pre-internet days, too, so I was on my own and really struggled. Books saved me, however."