LONG AWAITED EP

PHINDA RETURNS WITH HER HIGHLY ANTICIPATED EP, 10 YEARS - A DECADE

After a ten-year hiatus, South Africa’s beloved songstress, Phinda, is making a triumphant return to the music scene with the release of her new EP, 10 Years – A Decade. This highly anticipated collection will be officially launched on 28 February 2025 at the iconic Market Theatre in Johannesburg, promising an intimate evening of world-class music, heartfelt storytelling, and raw emotion.
 
This five-track EP marks a significant new chapter in Phinda’s storied career, capturing her journey of healing and self-discovery following the tragic loss of her husband a decade ago.

“The last ten years have been a period of deep reflection, loss, and ultimately, healing. Losing my husband left a void I didn’t know how to fill. I needed time to rediscover myself—not only as an artist but as a person. Music has always been my sanctuary, and now I’m ready to share my story and bring joy to my fans once again. This EP is my gift to everyone who’s waited for me,” Phinda shared in a heartfelt statement.
 
Renowned for her soulful voice and her ability to connect deeply with her audience, Phinda rose to prominence with her timeless hits, including the fan-favourite Tiki Tiki, a track that continues to resonate across generations.
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The EP 10 Years – A Decade features five emotionally rich songs that weave Afro-jazz, soul, and traditional South African sounds, i.e. Indla eGoli, Ndizok’ Linda, Ngab’ Uyaqal’ Ubiwa, Zumphathe Kahle and Uweyo.

The historic Market Theatre, a hub of South Africa’s cultural narrative, provides the perfect backdrop for Phinda’s return. Fans can expect an unforgettable evening filled with nostalgia, passion, and the raw talent that has always defined her artistry.
 
Phinda’s comeback is more than a concert—it’s a celebration of resilience, artistry, and the power of music to heal and inspire. Her timeless sound continues to captivate audiences, and this performance is set to remind South Africa why she remains one of its most cherished musical icons.
 
Tickets for this landmark event are now available at www.webticket.co.za or you can contact 0639893766. Be sure to secure your spot for an evening that promises to be nothing short of magical.

Life & Times of Michael K

Life & Times of Michael K

J.M Coetzee’s Life & Times of Michael K comes to The Market Theatre this March and April 2025.

A daring spirit, a haunting story, in a time of war. Life & Times of Michael K is a literary masterpiece by Nobel Prize and Booker Prize-winning South African novelist, J.M Coetzee. The hugely successful international hit production of the novel was created by The Baxter Theatre and adapted for stage by Lara Foot, in collaboration with the Tony Award-winning Handspring Puppet Company (of War Horse and Little Amal fame).
 
The stage adaptation will have a run at The Market Theatre from 27 March to 13 April 2025, following its return from multiple international engagements, where it has received high praise from leading theatre critics and agenda-setting publications.
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The production’s exceptional cast comprises Sandra Prinsloo (who will be with the show until 6 April), Andrew Buckland, Faniswa Yisa, puppet master Craig Leo, Roshina Ratnam, Carlo Daniels, Billy Langa, Markus Schabbing, Nolufefe Ntshuntshe and Nkosinathi Mngomezulu. Susan Danford will replace Sandra Prinsloo for the last week of the run.
 
The hauntingly beautiful story follows Michael K, a simple man who embarks on a journey through South Africa, ravaged by civil war, to return his mother to die on the farm of her birth. He finds strength in his own humanity, his profound connection to the earth and his unique path which, as it unfolds, reveals to him his reason for living.
 
Adaptor and director, Lara Foot,  describes it as a privilege for her to work on this complex production of the popular novel, saying it’s one of the highlights of her career.
 
“Michael K is a prophet of our times, whom, I am certain will go down in theatre history as a significant icon. The beauty of JM Coetzee’s work is the layer upon layer of metaphor, poetry and meaning, which lends itself beautifully to a multi-disciplinary style of theatre, combining puppetry, film, literature, live performance, movement, sound and music,” remarks Foot.
 
She adds, “Coetzee has chosen an inimitable every-man as his protagonist in Michael K, an outsider, ostracised not for his social or political circumstances, but because of his disfigurement. However, Michael K has the unique ability to find his own version of complete freedom; he will not prescribe to servitude, nor politics, and chooses to stay out of any of the camps.”
 
To date, Life &  Times of Michael K has toured to the US, China, Germany, Luxembourg and Scotland. It has won The Scotsman Fringe First Award in 2023 and was also The New York Times Critic’s Pick. In one of the glowing reviews, The British Theatre Guide called it “one of the high points of the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe”.
 
The Market Theatre Foundation’s Artistic Director, Greg Homann, hailed the partnership with The Baxter Theatre as ensuring the inter-city mobility of live theatre between Cape Town and Johannesburg. Homann added, “Having this remarkable stage adaptation of Life & Times of Michael K with us is an opportunity for our audience to share in this tragic yet deeply moving story in a time of heightened tension across the world. Theatre has always been able to restore society’s moral consciousness in funny, thought-provoking and visceral ways. This stirring and beautifully crafted production is a timely work for our current context.”
 
The limited three-week run starts 27 March and runs until 13 April 2025. Tickets are available via Webtickets, with a reduced-price preview on Thursday 27 March and all Wednesday performances at half-price. If you hurry, you can also catch an early-bird special available until mid-March. 
 
The Market Theatre is a Division of The Market Theatre Foundation, an agency of the Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation.

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.

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For more media enquiries and interview requests, please contact Bongiwe Potelwa (publicist at the Market Theatre Foundation) at bongiwep@markettheatre.co.za or call (011) 832 1641 OR Fahiem Stellenboom, Baxter Theatre on 021 680 3971 or email fahiem.stellenboom@uct.ac.za.

‘n Begin

'n Begin

Intimate play in Afrikaans explores modern relationships

Both comedic and tender, ‘n Begin is a sharp and astute two-hander that takes an intimate look at the first fragile moments of risking your heart and taking a chance on love. The Market Theatre in association with the Stellenbosch Woordfees, supported by NATi, is proud to bring this acclaimed Afrikaans production to Johannesburg. Originally written in English by British playwright David Eldridge, ’n Begin was translated to Afrikaans by Nico Scheepers and is directed by the award-winning Tinarie van Wyk-Loots. It kickstarts the ‘Month of Love’ with a romantic bang, running for a strictly limited season at The Market Theatre from 30 January to 16 February.

The two-hander offers a meditation on loneliness, love, desire, insecurity, connection and intimacy. Laura (played by Cintaine Schutte) makes known her desires for Daniel (played by Carel Nel). The story takes place at the end of Laura’s housewarming party. It’s early in the morning and everyone has gone home, except Daniel. The place is a mess and so are they.  Laura fearlessly pursues Daniel as he battles feelings of insecurity and hesitation. Will this be the beginning of something great? Reviewed by Netwerk24 as “flirty, modern and real”, the play examines modern relationships with psychological precision and care.

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Director, Tinarie van Wyk-Loots, urges audiences to prepare for a thrilling ride of goosebumps and gasps, as the award-winning acting couple, Cintaine Schutte and Carel Nel, movingly and delicately explore the complexity and messiness of beginning a new relationship, highlighting the unconventional ways we pursue and negotiate love. Van Wyk-Loots states, “Directing this play by David Elridge, who is one of the most talented playwrights of his times, is an incredible privilege. The chemistry between the cast is contagious and real, giving an authentic exploration of what modern relationships often look like. This production premiered at the Stellenbosch Woordfees to raving reviews, and Joburg audiences can expect a magical performance that offers an intimate look at the first fragile moments of risking it all for love.”

The Market Theatre Foundation’s Artistic Director, Greg Homann, adds that this play offers audiences an opportunity to see two outstanding performers that capture the ordinary in a compelling and entertaining way. “We’re excited to stage this brilliant piece of contemporary playwriting, which the talented team behind it has now placed so well in a recognizable South African context.  The raw and effortless connection shared by real-life partners, Cintaine Schutte and Carel Nel, makes for amazing chemistry and storytelling. As human beings, we have our ideas of love and relate to it in our own unique ways, and ’n Begin is that kind of production that invites us to evaluate how we negotiate love, with all our baggage in tow,” says Homann.

This month of love, don’t miss this delicate, funny, and playful encounter of two characters trying to connect. Special Valentine’s Day specials are available for the performance on 14 February. Tickets across the limited 3-week run for ’n Begin are available via Webtickets.

 ENDS

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

For reduced price block bookings (of 10 or more), contact Anthony Ezeoke (Audience Development) at AnthonyE@markettheatre.co.za or 083 246 4950.

The Cry Of Winnie Mandela

ONE LAST CHANCE! THE CRY OF WINNIE MANDELA EXTENDED UNTIL 30 MARCH!

with Thembisa Mdoda-Nxumalo as ‘Winnie’

Following its critical and popular success, The Cry of Winnie Mandela – a play based on the Njabulo Ndebele novel of the same name – makes a highly anticipated return to the stage. Adapted by Alex Burger and directed by the award-winning MoMo Matsunyane, The Cry of Winnie Mandela has returned to The Market Theatre from 26 February to 23 March 2025. Due to popular demand the show has been extended to 30 March 2025!

Award-winning TV actress, theatre practitioner and presenter, Thembisa Mdoda-Nxumalo, takes on the character of ‘Winnie’. Mdoda-Nxumalo joins the remarkable cast comprising of Rami Chuene, Ayanda Sibisi, Siyasanga Papu, Les Made and Pulane Rampoana in this searing adaption of Njabulo S. Ndebele’s seminal novel.  

Director, MoMo Matsunyane, describes The Cry Of Winnie Mandela as a courageous story of every woman who has endured loss, suffered loneliness and experienced the chilling anxiety of waiting. “Winnie Mandela continues to be a powerful, multi-layered figure to explore. Her revolutionary spirit, resilient character and generous heart have become anchors for many women of all generations and identities, each seeing herself in her legacy. Indeed, she did not die; she multiplied,’’ says MoMo.

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In the play, four women meet to reflect, joined together by their anticipation of their husbands’ return. Engaged in sacred moments of sharing and fellowship, they lean on the heroism of Winnie Mandela, and the connection they feel towards her. The women interrogate their – and other women’s – reasons for waiting, and what the wait did to them. This interrogation leads to a series of hearty, haunting, and critical conversations, drawing audiences to reflect on the historical struggles of women, while drawing parallels to our own contemporary lives.

All this is done with intense emotion and cleverly injected humour, weaving together the characters’ private accounts and exposing the shadows, isolation and complexities of their journeys against the backdrop of the life and times of Winnie Mandela. You are invited to join these resilient women as they gather, share their stories, sing, and metaphorically drink their “tea” – a potent blend of strength and vulnerability.

Tickets for both The Baxter Theatre and The Market Theatre runs are available on Webtickets. Audiences can unlock a 30% OFF special when they buy tickets during the festive season until 7 January for all performances of The Cry of Winnie Mandela happening at The Market Theatre.

Start 2025 by being inspired by this powerful exploration of love, resilience, courage, and the indomitable spirit of women.

ENDS!

For media enquiries, please contact Bongiwe Potelwa (Publicist at the Market Theatre Foundation) at bongiwep@markettheatre.co.za.

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.  

Derek Gripper

Derek Gripper: Call It What It Is (PG5+)

Derek Gripper is one of South Africa’s leading guitarists whose love of the kora set him transcribing and record some of its greatest works, changing the face of classical guitar. Returning from a countrywide tour of the United States, Derek will play a fundraiser for The Gift of the Givers Foundation, the largest disaster response non-governmental organisation of African origin on the African continent.

Join us for an unforgettable evening with Derek Gripper, a guitarist who redefines the boundaries of classical music. Renowned for his innovative technique that evokes the rich sounds of the West African Kora (21 string harp), Gripper masterfully blends the intricate music of great African composers including Toumani Diabaté and Ali Farka Touré alongside the timeless compositions of Arvo Pärt and J.S. Bach.

Gripper’s transformative journey began with his album One Night on Earth, where he translated the captivating sounds of kora virtuoso Toumani Diabaté onto the guitar.

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Celebrated guitarist John Williams noted, “It seemed absolutely impossible until I heard Derek Gripper do it.” Derek’s interpretations not only showcase his virtuosity but also incorporate lessons from the oral traditions of West Africa, creating a dialogue between cultures.

This work led to collaborations that transcended borders, with invitations to perform alongside John Williams and Toumani Diabaté’s Symmetric Orchestra. Gripper’s artistry has captivated audiences at esteemed venues across the globe, from Carnegie Hall to Shakespeare’s Globe.

Recent recordings like “A Year of Swimming,” “Billy Goes to Durban,” and his latest album with kora master Ballaké Sissoko, introduce original compositions and improvisations, each a testament to his dedication to evolving and challenging his musical style. Moreover, his recordings of the solo works of J.S. Bach have been a fascinating study in the symbiosis of African music and early European melodies, revealing the freedom and universality of one of Europe’s great improvising musicians.

This concert is not merely a performance; it is an immersive exploration that invites you to experience the profound connections between diverse musical traditions. Join us for a night that promises to inspire and resonate deeply.

Secure your tickets now and be part of this exceptional musical celebration with Derek Gripper!

Special note:
The great Malian kora player Toumani passed away unexpectedly in July of 2024. To commemorate the passing of one of Africa’s great virtuosos, Derek will perform the five compositions off Toumani’s debut album “Kaira” in a brand new, never before performed, rendition of these classics of the West African repertoire.

BODY MOVES International Inclusive Dance Festival

BODY MOVES International Inclusive Dance Festival (13+)

International Collaboration to Shine at 2024 BODY MOVES Inclusive Dance Festival

Sibikwa Arts Centre proudly announces the much-anticipated 2024 edition of the BODY MOVES International Inclusive Dance Festival, taking place  at various venues  in Gauteng and the Western Cape from November.

This year’s festival breaks new ground with an exciting collaboration between South Africa and the United Kingdom, featuring Mark Smith Productions and Very Easy Productions.

Presented in partnership with the Market Theatre and Unmute Dance Company, the festival will travel across Gauteng and the Western Cape, offering audiences an unforgettable experience

For the first time, the 2024 festival adopts a unique format, focusing on an artistic residency, a performance tour, and a series of interactive workshops and discussions.

Sibikwa is thrilled to host the UK’s renowned deaf dancer and choreographer, Mark Smith, for a 2-week residency to create a new work, SYNERGY 2.0, with an inclusive dance ensemble from South Africa. The residency will culminate in performances of the newly devised work, presented alongside SYNERGY, a piece performed by a UK-SA inclusive ensemble. 

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The 2 pieces in conversation with each other, explore the impact of climate change on Deaf and disabled communities. Another highlight of the festival is Bells & Sirens 2, a dynamic reimagining of the original Bells and Sirens, commissioned by Sibikwa in 2023. This piece, supported by the Global Disability Innovation Hub’s UK aid funded AT2030 programme, choreographed by Thapelo Kotlolo and performed by Jabu Vilakazi and Keaoleboga Seodigeng, examines the vibrant yet precarious world of queer club culture, and the tension between the freedom of nightlife and societal constraints on identity and expression.

Performance Dates and Venues:

  • Sibikwa Arts Centre, Benoni: 21 & 22 November at 11h00, followed by post-performance discussions. Tickets may be purchased on Quicket for adults at R100, and for under 18’s at R50, with group discounts available.
  • Market Theatre, Johannesburg: 24 November at 15h00. Tickets are available on Webtickets for general entry at R100.
  • Unmute ArtsAbility Festival, Cape Town: 26 November – 7 December.

The festival will also offer inclusive dance workshops for carers and youth, led by celebrated dancers, choreographers and facilitators Gladys Aghulas, Gaby Saranouffi, and Teresa Phuti Mojela, at Afrika Tikkun Centres in Gauteng and the Western Cape, and at Sibikwa Arts Centre.

Workshops with carers will explore the relationship between self-care and caregiving through movement, providing tools to create supportive environments for people of all abilities. Youth-focused workshops will address themes of climate change and the marginalization of people with disabilities, using dance to encourage creative expression and reflection on social and environmental justice.

Workshop Dates and Venues:

  • Arika Tikkun Diepsloot Centre: 6 November
  • Afrika Tikkun Alexandra Centre: 7 November
  • Afrika Tikkun Orange Farm Centre: 12 November
  • Afrika Tikkun Braamfontein Centre: 14 November
  • Sibikwa Arts Centre, Benoni: 21 & 22 November at 09h30, free entry
  • Afrika Tikkun Emfuleni Centre: 2 December

Additionally, an important dialogue on dance and disability, presented in collaboration with the African Dance and Disability Network, will take place during the ArtsAbility Festival.

Stay updated on performance schedules, ticketing information, and details about the online dialogue through the Sibikwa Arts Centre and partner websites and social media.

Sibikwa’s BODY MOVES International Inclusive Dance Festival in 2024 is made possible through the generous support of the South African Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture, and Recreation, the Gauteng Sports Council, the Federation of Gauteng Community Arts Centres, and the National Arts Council. Further support is provided by Arts Council England, Without Walls, Bird College, Birmingham Hippodrome, and Greenwich + Docklands International Festival.

 ALL MEDIA QUERIES:

The BUZ Hive

Bridget van Oerle

bridget@thebuzhive.co.za / media@thebuzhive.co.za

083266991

For further information at Sibikwa contact Caryn Green at caryn@sibikwa.co.za or 011 422 4359 / 082 783 2035.

Elzabé Zietsman: Vier Panado’s en ‘n Chardonnay’

Elzabé Zietsman: Vier Panado’s en ‘n Chardonnay’

The Market Theatre, Drama Drama and Zietsies Restaurant proudly present Vier Panado’s en ‘n Chardonnay, an award-winning cabaret by legendary performer, Elzabé Zietsman. Its performances are scheduled every Thursday for four weeks, starting from 24 October 2024, at the Market Theatre’s newly refurbished Gramadoelas space.
 
In the cabaret, Zietsman is accompanied by exceptional pianist and music director, Tony Bentel, a long-standing collaboration that brings together these stage veterans with nearly 100 years of combined experience. The show consists of a diverse repertoire of songs spanning Weimar-era cabarets, stripped-down renditions of contemporary hits and a few original compositionsis seamlessly woven with personal stories.
 
Vier Panado’s en ‘n Chardonnay is an edgy work of honesty and critical reflection, laced with humour, through which Zietsman narrates her real life story in celebration of her own resilience, and that of her fellow South Africans. The 75-minute cabaret entertains while unpacking multiple adversities such as the kleptocracy robbing the country blind, crime, unemployment and other social ills. Zietsman recognises our courageous ability to produce positive outcomes despite our country’s challenges, as illustrated by the collective joy we feel when our athletic and artistic excellences are showcased on world stages.
 
“Resilience is not just the ability to bounce back from adversity, but also refers to the capacity to adapt to a changing environment. In today’s world, we need it more than ever, and Vier Panado’s en ‘n Chardonnay is a celebration of South Africans’ resilience and our ability to laugh at ourselves (and others),” Zietsman says.
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For its brilliant narrative and musical performance, the production won a Kanna Award for Best Offering: Music at the 2024 Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees (KKNK). It is also nominated for Best Achievement: Contemporary Music – Solo/Duo at the recent 2024 Woordfees, and has received two nominations at Aardklop for Best Music Performance and Best Music-Driven Production.
The cabaret is the first in a series of upcoming programming of the recently refurbished and repurposed Gramadoelas space at the Market Theatre, which can now offer an alternative space for intimate gatherings alongside its core theatre experience.
 
Greg Homann, Artistic Director at the Market Theatre Foundation, described the decision to use Gramadoelas as a deliberate move to reactivate the space and diversify the Market Theatre’s value offering. Homann shares, “Staging this wonderful piece of work at the Gramadoelas is the next step towards the regular use of the venue as a multi-functional space. It’s part of the new energy we have injected into our offering, ensuring that we give our audiences experiences that go beyond our dedicated theatre venues.”
 
So, each Thursday from 24 October – 21 November 2024, bring all the headaches unique to being South African to the Market Theatre for your prescription of Vier Panados en ‘n  Chardonnay, written with sharp comedy and biting satire. Tickets via Webtickets cost R400 including dinner prepared from Elzabé Zietsman’s restaurant, Zietsies, or at R200 excluding food.
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Father and I

New and dynamic dance theatre work explores South African fathers

A newly created dance theatre work, Father & I, uses personal stories, dance, song, and music to explore the relationships between South African fathers and their children. This dynamic fusion of real life stories is created between the Windybrow Arts Centre’s Kwasha! Theatre Company, The Market Theatre and Moving into Dance, and will premiere over a limited season of four performances at the Market Theatre at the end of November.

The multi-award-winning Greg Homann, Artistic Director at The Market Theatre Foundation, directs this vibrant work, while Moving into Dance’s Artistic Director, Sunnyboy Motau, choreographs it. The original music that accompanies the stories is by Bongile Lecoge–Zulu.

This interdisciplinary work  that combines song, dance and personal testimony creates a theatrical experience aimed at acknowledging the complexity and beauty of fatherly relationships, with all its imperfections.

In light of the concerning statistics about fatherlessness, which affects 60% of South Africa’s children, Father & I offers a warm and nuanced take at what it means to be a father in contemporary South Africa. The performance is delivered with humour, care and empathy, aimed at facilitating understanding, reconciliation and love.

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Father & I is a work that appreciates that fathers are first and foremost human, and human beings are complicated.

The show aims to present a balanced and honest narrative that celebrates fathers who are “getting it right”, while rolling out a bandage to those who have been wounded by disappointment and abandonment. The artistic treatment creates an empathetic space that has the potential to lead audiences to a place of honest conversations about healing the father wound, reconciling broken families and inspiring a new generation of fathers to break an all too familiar destructive cycle.

Choreographer, Sunnyboy Motau, says the dance theatre work attempts to show fatherhood in all its complexity, especially in a country like South Africa, where the role requires added resilience, courage, vulnerability and responsibility.

Director, Greg Homann, adds, “Starting with the personal narratives of the actors and dancers involved, Father & I weaves stories of absence and presence, identity, inherited roles, support, and notions of masculinity. Each artist shares their experiences, highlighting the challenges of these bonds—the joys, the struggles, and the fatherly moments that define them. These heartfelt stories invite the audience to reflect on their own relationships with their fathers, sparking dialogue about love, belonging, the act of providing and the deep yearning for connection.”

Don’t miss this new work that will shift your perspective about fatherhood in a daringly heart-stirring way. Tickets via Webtickets start from R150.

ENDS

For enquiries, please contact Bongiwe Potelwa (Publicist at the Market Theatre Foundation) at bongiwep@markettheatre.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 4950/081 572 9612.

Ndilapha

Join us for a magical night as Nomfundo Xaluva takes us on a journey with the launch of her third and long-awaited album "Ndilapha"

Nomfundo Xaluva is back with her 3rd studio album independently recorded and produced between 2023-2024. Titled Ndilapha which means “I am here” in isiXhosa, this project’s intention is to express the various manifestations of presence through song.

Having last released an album in 2015, Xaluva’s recorded music has and continues to stand in the gap for her during periods of physical absence from the stage. After years of writing, learning and listening, she returns to the stage to launch Ndilapha, a body of work consisting of songs she has penned over the last decade.

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This album is a culmination of experiences which include loss, re-birth, motherhood, black womanhood, love, and legacy. With 9 out of the 10 songs written by Xaluva, it is her fervent hope that through her songwriting she can contribute meaningfully to the (re)creation of spaces for black women to reflect and celebrate themselves authentically without the pressures of hyper visibility often pursued through reductionist meanings of presence. “In a milestone year for me, this album is the perfect reminder to myself that I am here, in my way and I am enough”.

Lala Ngenxeba

Lala Ngenxeba/ Of Love and Revolution (PG 14)

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Sobukwe-inspired play examines love as the centre of revolution

To commemorate the hundredth anniversary of Robert Sobukwe’s birth on 5 December 2024, The Market Theatre has commissioned a new play, Lala Ngenxeba/Of Love and Revolution, which aims to introduce audiences to the life and times of the former PAC leader through critical historic moments alongside his prison letters to his wife, Veronica Sobukwe

The play will open on 14 November 2024 in the Barney Simon Theatre as part of the KAZA KAMBA Pan-African Theatre Festival. It will then run beyond the festival until 8 December 2024, closing the week of Sobukwe’s birthday.

Lala Ngenxeba/Of Love and Revolution sets out to show how Sobukwe’s love-centred response to oppression fuelled his fighting spirit against oppression and racial injustice. It examines love as a driving force of the revolution and a way of practising freedom while in bondageThe brand new play, written by award-winning playwright Monageng ‘Vice’ Motshabi, focuses on Sobukwe’s relationship with his wife through their letters, prison visits and everyday life in Kimberley, Northern Cape, where the couple lived.

 

The struggle for freedom, as well as the evolution of strategies of responding to apartheid and its escalating violence, are seen through Sobukwe’s connection to family, friends and fellow prisoners. Robert Sobukwe died of lung cancer in 1978. He was the founding member of the ANCYL and later first president of the PAC. As an academic, lawyer and organiser, Sobukwe was a staunch proponent of pan-Africanism, and devoted his whole life to the liberation of the oppressed African majority. 

Some of the defining events central to the play include the Sharpeville Massacre, life at various prisons leading up to ‘the Sobukwe Clause’, Robben Island as well as life in Kimberly where he worked as a lawyer and community icon. The production makes use of orality and multiple-point-of-view-storytelling, monologues, satire, song and excerpts from some of Sobukwe’s favourite poems as they appear in his letters. Employing orality depicts Sobukwe’s love for storytelling, while emphasising his deep-rooted identity as a pan-Africanist.

The play carries a humanising motif, carefully portraying struggle heroes as ordinary people who, in addition to their revolutionary and moral courage against oppression, still found deep meaning in the pursuit of simple pleasures. It provokes reflections on the impact of colonialism and apartheid on the black family, as seen not only through the migrant labour system and land dispossession, but also the imprisonment, exile and killing of freedom fighters.

Greg Homann, Market Theatre Foundation’s Artistic Director, holds that Lala Ngenxeba/Of Love and Revolution is a much-needed telling of our country’s liberation stories in this 30th year of our democracy, calling on us to rethink how we remember, honour and teach Sobukwe. “Sobukwe is a giant who played an important role in shaping South Africa, but his contribution is diminished in the public imagination of post-struggle South Africa. Staging this commemorative play is consistent with the Market Theatre’s unwavering commitment to being at the forefront of telling African stories with boldness, using the power of culture to agitate, inform and entertain,” outlines Homann.

The production is directed by Palesa Mazamisa. The cast is Pulane Rampoana, Zizana Peteni, and Katlego ‘Kaygee’ Letsholonyana who, throughout the play, move between narration and the voicing of various characters, including Sobukwe, in a way that grapples with a complex life and legacy.

Lala Ngenxeba/Of Love and Revolution offers an audience a moment to consider the philosophical and political importance of one of South Africa’s great struggle-leaders.

Do not miss this production at The Market Theatre. It runs from 13 November to 8 December 2024, with reduced price tickets at R100 over the KAZA KAMBA Pan-African Theatre Festival until 17 November. All tickets across the run are available via Webtickets.

For enquiries, please contact Bongiwe Potelwa (Publicist at the Market Theatre Foundation) at bongiwep@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.