The SAHAs have the following categories:

Youth Empowerment – uplifting young people through various programmes,
Business Empowerment – helping start-ups/small businesses to help them succeed,
Specialized Care – people who take care of vulnerable groups like orphans, disabled persons, abused people, widows, homeless, etc.,
Community Service – voluntary community work in different NGOs to benefit fellow community members, e.g., community policing forums,
Community Health – health centres initiated and run by community members as well as primary health care,
Rural Development – projects that uplift rural communities,
Women Empowerment – programmes meant for the upliftment and empowerment of women
Community Journalist of the year – submitted with at least 4 community uplifting/building stories.
Community Media of the Year – Telling community empowering stories.
Community Builder of the Year – voted for by fellow nominees in recognition of their outstanding work.

Honorary Awards:

Green Award – honours people who run projects/programmes for environmental preservation.
Ubuntu Award – honours veteran community builders whose projects have produced other noticeable community builders and high achievers.
Art of Giving – honours those who are uplifting communities through art.
Language Preservation Award – honours those who take pride in preserving indigenous languages.
Leader of Influence – honours exceptional leaders who lead by example and have a trail of positive influence.
Rights Activist of the Year – gives honour to those who fight tirelessly for human rights.
Aid Giver of the Year – honours exceptional first responders in times of disaster & distress.
Iconic Impact – honours an icon who has lived and continues to live their lives giving of themselves to others to ensure they succeed in life.
Excellence in Public Service – honours those in public service who deliver with excellence and go beyond the call of duty.
International Achiever – represents South Africa with pride abroad, changing and impacting lives.

The accolades over the years have honoured its script, direction, and outstanding performance. Drawing inspiration from the irrational fear evoked by the Parktown Prawn, The Ugly Noo Noo delves into how fear is manipulated in times of struggle and difficulty, while also addressing universal human truths. Its relevance and humour endure, making its main theme of irrational fear as compelling today as it was in 1988.

This return of the work to The Market celebrates the remarkable contribution of this pioneering piece to South African Theatre. Artistic Director of the Market Theatre, Greg Homann, says, “It’s a privilege for us at The Market to be able to welcome this play home, retaining Andrew Buckland in the role alongside the works relevance to our current world of fear and uncertainty.” Homann adds, “This season provides an opportunity for an audience who know the work to relive its brilliance, while giving a new audience a chance to witness the unique skills and stage presence of this elder of South African Theatre.”

The fact that the The Ugly Noo Noo is still being played today is a testament to the extraordinary nature of the show and its creators, affirming that more than three decades later, this is theatre that remains as enthralling and funny as ever.

Don’t miss the opportunity to see Andrew Buckland in his seminal role at The Market Theatre from 15 August to 1 September 2024. Bookings are open via Webtickets.

ENDS

For media enquiries please contact Lusanda Zokufa (Brand and Communication Manager at the Market Theatre Foundation) at lusandaz@marketheatre.co.za or (011) 832 1641 or 072 367 7867.

For reduced price block bookings (of 10 or more) and school groups, contact Anthony Ezeoke (Audience Development) at AnthonyE@markettheatre.co.za or 083 246 4950 or Mamello Khomongoe mamellok@markettheatre.co.za 0815729612

Prayers, this year’s winner of the Market Theatre’s annual Zwakala Festival, will enjoy a two-week run starting from 25 September 2024 in the Barney Simon Theatre.

Prayers is an edgy play written and directed by Solly Ramatswi that tells the story of a young man who is forced to self-reflect amid the expectations of society on the youth. He is conflicted between conforming to the socialisation of boys and fighting his unbridled sexual urges. The crux of the brave and bold play is the navigation of this maze. The inciting question that the play grapples with is, “Can one find light from within, even in the darkest corners of the soul?”

The staging of Prayers in the Barney Simon Theatre, named after the founder and first artistic director of the Market Theatre, bears profound symbolism. Barney Simon was a champion of creating opportunities for community-based theatre-makers to showcase their works on big stages. His mode of enabling the stories of ordinary South Africans resonates with the spirit of the Zwakala Festival, a platform on which Prayers was discovered in January this year.

Writer and director, Solly Ramatswi, gives the play its purposeful direction, which leaves the audience empathising with the dilemma faced by the protagonist, portrayed by Vusi Nkwenkwezi. The Limpopo-born Ramatswi shares that his storytelling techniques are inspired by his grandmother. His theatre-making approach is to incorporate imagery, music and movement.

Ramatswi has won several poetry slam championships and has used sign language in poetry performances to raise awareness about disability.

As a Zwakala Festival winner, Prayers went through further development and mentorship in preparation for its two-week run, guided by award-winning playwright, J. Bobs Tshabalala. Tshabalala will be familiar to audiences as he is the writer of Poet-O-Type and Khongolose Khommanding Khommissars, both of which have enjoyed successful seasons recently at The Market Theatre. He has scooped the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Theatre, a Naledi Theatre Award and other recognitions. He worked alongside Ramatswi to further sharpen the script and direction in preparation for the play’s upcoming run. 

The star of the show is Mpumalanga-born and Gauteng-raised Vusi Nkwenkwezi, who won the Most Outstanding Performance Award at this year’s Zwakala Festival. Nkwenkwezi is an award-winning actor, creative director, mentor, teacher and director of SHRAC 11 Community Development. He will be recognised by TV viewers for his role in the KFC commercial, “Streetwise Bozza”, as a too-timing gang honcho. He is also an alumnus of the Market Theatre Lab, where he completed his drama studies in 2017.

Come immerse yourself in this captivating and relatable play that shines the light on a young man’s path to self-identity in the jungle of contradictions and expectations. Tickets for the show range from R100 as part of the Market Theatre’s half-price special on a Wednesday to R200, with bookings of 4 or more at only R120 via Webtickets.

ENDS

For enquiries, please contact Bongiwe Potelwa (Publicist at the Market Theatre Foundation) at bongim@marketheatre.co.za or (011) 832 1641.

For reduced price block bookings (of 10 or more) and school groups, contact Anthony Ezeoke (Audience Development) at AnthonyE@markettheatre.co.za or 083 246 4950 or Mamello Khomongoe mamellok@markettheatre.co.za 0815729612.

As a socially focused play, Kwa’Mnyamandawo offers insights into the lives of those who live on the margins of society, excluded from meaningful participation in civic activities and who are all but forgotten by mainstream society. The occupants navigate their existence in crowded spaces which offer little to no room for children to play or for healthy social activities. The production not only highlights the plight of inner-city residents whose lives are characterized by rampant crime and harsh living conditions, but it also serves as a powerful indictment on public officials who have allowed these things to happen.

The dynamic production is brought onto the stage by Kwasha! The 7^th Theatre Company which was established in 2018 as a collaboration between the Market Theatre Laboratory and the Windybrow Arts Centre. This reparatory system of making theatre has over its several years of existence provided a brilliant home for new, emerging talent. It is a space for entry-level professional theatre-makers to experiment, grow, develop, harness and sharpen their skills as they embark on a career in the world of theatre performance.

In its six previous iterations, Kwasha! Theatre Company has showcased devised and innovative productions as well as several adaptations at spaces such as the National Arts Festival (NAF) and internationally. Three of those productions won much sought after and highly competitive Standard Bank Ovation Awards. These were The Little Prince, which won in 2018, and Currently (G)old and Rhinocerus which both won in the NAF 2019 edition.

After their one year with Kwasha!, several actors from the company have been cast into different productions and have enjoyed work at theatre houses in various roles. This is testament to the robust, relevant and cutting-edge sharpening of their skill through their enriching time as part of this programme.

Devised by the Kwasha! The 7^th Theatre Company cast, Kwa’Mnyamandawo has Thabang Chauke as the director, Joel Leonard as mentor with costume and set design by Chloe Wittstock.

Be the first to catch this original production at the Ramolao Makhene Theatre at The Market Square in Newtown from 18 to 21 July for four performances only.

ENDS

For media enquiries please contact Lusanda Zokufa (Brand and Communication Manager at the Market Theatre Foundation) at lusandaz@marketheatre.co.za or (011) 832 1641 or 072 367 7867.

For reduced price block bookings (of 10 or more) and school groups, contact Anthony Ezeoke (Audience Development) at AnthonyE@markettheatre.co.za or 083 246 4950 or Mamello Khomongoe mamellok@markettheatre.co.za 0815729612

It is set in the bedrooms of the characters in a non-descript city in South Africa. ,They navigate the transactions of class and gender as they move between various private and domestic contexts. Amaxelegu features an impressive cast which includes Shalima Mkongi, a UCT, AFDA and Waterfront Theatre School graduate in the role of ‘Thabisa’. Mkongi has several notable theatre and film roles under her belt including The Crucible, Cincinatti, Justice Served and Diamond City, in addition to being a sought-after voice actor. It also features Luxolo Ndabeni in the role of ‘Azola’. Ndabeni is a South African State Theatre product best known for roles in Lockdown (S1), Surviving Gaza and Gomora (S4). Audiences can look forward to how the two will portray the private and social dynamics of the play’s central relationship as Thabisa and Azola navigate their day-to-day lives within the backdrop of gender and class as young, upwardly mobile-middle-class black South Africans.

In the role of ‘Mama Priscilla’ is the veteran award-winning film and television actor, Nambitha Mpumlwana​ who is well-known for her work on screen in multiple, award-winning and memorable productions from Generations to Invictus, from Yizo-Yizo to Tsotsi and much more in between. Nambitha Mpumlwana recently featured in the hit-production, The Cry ​of Winnie Mandela ​at The Market Theatre, playing ​struggle icon, political activist, liberation fighter, and the first-first lady of democratic South Africa, Winnie Mandela. 

Qondiswa ​James has built an impressive oeuvre of work since bursting onto the scene. She has studied and worked with an enviable array of playwrights, directors and theatre houses. Her directorial works include​, Emhlab’Obomvu​, performed at the National Arts Festival in 2016 and​, Silindile​, which was part of the UCT New Voices in 2017. She as awarded the Theatre Arts Admin Collective’s Emerging Theatre Directors Bursary in 2018 for, A Faint Patch of Light, a powerful re-interpretation of the legendary playwright Athol Fugard’s Statements After An Arrest Under The Immorality Act. That play was nominated in 2019 for 2 Fleur du Cap Awards for Best New Director and Best Actress.

​More recently, Qondiswa James was part of the Centre for the Less Good Idea’s ​innovative and groundbreaking project “On Air: Visual Radio Plays​”​, which was an experiment with aural and visual interpretation of theatrical works with the play, Emalehleni. Qondiswa James’ star continues to rise. This time she brings her fearless imagination and boundless talents to the Market Theatre stage.

Completing A​maxelegu’s formidable team is set and costume design​er Onthatile Matshidiso, sound designer Jannous Nkululeko Aukema​, AV designer Jurgen Meekel and Andrea Rolfes, and lighting designer David Themba Stuart​.

This is a fresh and bold production which will heat up those cold winter nights. Head to The Market Theatre this August and be the first to catch this sizzling new play directed and written by one of South Africa’s next wave of brilliant young theatre artists.

Age Advisory: 16 (SNL)

Language: English (with some Xhosa)

ENDS

For media enquiries please contact Lusanda Zokufa (Brand and Communication Manager at the Market Theatre Foundation) at lusandaz@marketheatre.co.za or (011) 832 1641 or 072 367 7867.

For reduced price block bookings (of 10 or more) and school groups, contact Anthony Ezeoke (Audience Development) at AnthonyE@markettheatre.co.za or 083 246 4950 or Mamello Khomongoe mamellok@markettheatre.co.za 0815729612