SHALL WE DANCE: REVIEW

 

Toe Tapping Thirties ... (Review by Dr Verne Rowin Munsamy)

I started my dance journey in Ballroom and Latin American Dance when I was 10 years old and I have loved it ever since. It will always hold a special place in my heart and every year I find joy in returning to the Playhouse Opera to watch, Shall We Dance.

This year the dance extravaganza turns 32. A remarkable achievement by any standards. I remember the beginnings of this dance experience when I was a student at UKZN and have relished in the show ever since.

 

(Left: Egor Kondratenko & Mie LinkedIn Funch)

Seven-times South African senior Champs Mark and Edlena Leslie-Smith, Europeans Champs Egor Kondratenko and Mie LinkedIn Funch, Rudra Dance, International School of Performing Arts, Strictly Ballroom, Dance Basics, Celtics Heartbeat, Creative HeArts, Young Dancers Project, and Razzmatazz all took the stage at the Playhouse Opera to bring us a night of explosive dance, spectacular costumes, riveting choreography and enticing magic on stage.

 

(Right: Mark & Edlena Leslie-Smith)

I was whisked back into the magnificence that is Ballroom, Latin American, Bollywood, Celtics, Ballet and Hip Hop. With 35 Dance routines, 95 dancers, 11 choreographers and one fantastic host, there was more than enough technique and temperature to rile the audience. The choreography was spicy and saucy and there was never a dull moment on stage.

Hosted by the talented and tantalizing Lisa Bobbert, who teased the audience with only three songs that are just the tip of her iceberg, the show flowed and flirted with the audience. We were glued to our seats anticipating the next dance number.

I was most impressed to see the inclusive dance style that had differently-abled bodies on stage.

I loved the use of scrim cloths that soak up colour lights to create myriad backgrounds. The floating lights add a wonderful dimension to the scenery. The lights were astute and complimentary to the choreography.

One of the most significant aspect of this type of dance is the costumes and this was a mystical tenant on its own. 

The show was an absolute mash hit. It was comforting to see that this style of dance is very much alive, that fusion is possible, and that there is a thirsty audience to receive this show.

Once again, congratulations to Neville Letard, Caryl Cuzens and team on reaching 32 years of amazing dance on stage. I look forward to number 33. 

The show ran from September 11 to 13 in the Playhouse Opera Theatre. - Dr Verne Rowin Munsamy

 

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR GCINA MHLOPHE

 

(Right: Dr Gcina Mhlophe. Pic supplied)

 

Poetry Africa Announces Dr Gcina Mhlophe as 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

Poetry Africa has announced that storyteller, poet, playwright and actress Dr Gcina Mhlophe has received its 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award, recognising more than four decades of contribution to South African oral tradition, literature and theatre.

Dr Gcina Mhlophe said: "It is a true honour to be recognised in this manner! I’m humbled and my heart is full of Gratitude, Sibonga Ophezulu, Sibonge Abaphansi"

Born in KwaZulu-Natal in 1958, Mhlophe rose to prominence in the 1980s through her work at Johannesburg's Market Theatre, including her acclaimed autobiographical play Have You Seen Zandile?, which won a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Festival. She is widely credited with helping revive oral storytelling as a recognised South African art form, performing and teaching across four of the country's languages – English, Afrikaans, Zulu and Xhosa.

Her body of work spans theatre, poetry, children's literature and film, and has been translated into numerous languages. Her honours include a SAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award, an Obie Award, the South African Children's Laureate Award, and honorary doctorates from universities in South Africa and abroad. In 2016, she was named to the BBC's 100 Women list. Her birthday, October 24, has been marked as National Storytelling Day in South Africa since 2019.

Ismail Mahomed, Director of the Centre for Creative Arts said: “Gcina Mhlophe has spent decades reminding us that a story, told with courage, can hold an entire nation's memory. Honouring her this year is a chance to celebrate not just a body of work, but a legacy that has shaped how South Africans understand the power of their own voices.”

The announcement follows Poetry Africa's opening reveal of its 2026 Featured Poet, Koleka Putuma, and comes on the same day as the festival's celebratory draw for the World Poetry Slam Championship quarter-finals, live-streamed on the Poetry Africa festival page on Facebook. The 5th World Slam Poetry Championships will bring 40 slam poets from 40 nations to Durban this October.

Tickets are available through Webtickets.

 

About Poetry Africa

Poetry Africa is an annual international poetry festival curated and presented by the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in Durban.

Running since 1997, the festival brings together spoken-word and published poets from South Africa and around the world for performances, panel discussions, campus and school visits, poetry exchanges, book launches, open mic sessions and slam competitions.

Over 30 years, Poetry Africa has created a platform for poets and audiences to reflect on the role of poetry in society and social change, while also supporting academic scholarship in contemporary poetry at UKZN.

 

For more information on the Centre for Creative Arts, click on the logo advert to the right of this article.

DAMSEL IN DISTRESS AT RHUMBELOW

 

(Kiruna-Lind Devar. Pic supplied)

 

Rhumbelow Theatre: September 11 – 13

 

Multi-award-winning cabaret artist Daniel Anderson directs sparkling young musical theatre star, Kiruna-Lind Devar, in a new one woman show about a geeky librarian needing to be brave: Damsel in Distress is running at the Rhumbelow Theatre from September 11 to 13.

A new production of Wela Kapela’s acclaimed Damsel in Distress tells the story of Griselda, aptly named after the original damsel in distress from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. She’s a librarian and she has not left the building in a very, very long time. Trapped by that dragon called fear, she has long since traded life for the safer world of fiction. When reality comes knocking, Griselda’s answer is simple: “No thank you. I’d rather just read my book.”

An avid armchair-traveller, Griselda travels through the world of books - to Paris, New York, Germany and beyond. That is until the handsome Edward Pamment begins frequenting the library. With his undeniable charm and distinctly Mr Darcy-esque manner, Edward awakens a curiosity about the world beyond Griselda’s carefully constructed castle, she must confront the fears that have kept her imprisoned. Through music, humour and heart, Damsel in Distress explores courage, survival and finding the strength to face a new life.

Through popular songs like I Love Paris, Mein Herr, At Seventeen, Windmills of Your Mind, Bang-Bang and You Don’t Own Me, the music sweeps audiences from Griselda’s imaginary world of travel to the deep corners of a dark and haunted past. Exploring the reality of femicide and gender-based violence, Damsel in Distress promises an exciting journey of hope, heart, courage and survival.

Starring acclaimed actress Kiruna-Lind Devar (Roxie Hart in Chicago, Sophie in Mamma Mia!) in her first solo cabaret. Durban audiences will be familiar with her family - Kiruna-Lind Devar is the daughter of Brenda Radloff and the late Siva Devar. The show also includes Samantha Riedel as both pianist and musical director. Multi-award-winning cabaret artist Daniel Anderson (The Tramp, Vincent) steps into the director’s chair for the first time. The story is written by celebrated and award-winning writer Amanda Bothma.

Running time 70 minutes no interval

Tickets R220 (R200 pensioners, R180 under 13)

Friday 11 September - Show starts 19h30

Saturday 12 September - Show starts 19h30

Sunday 13 September - Show starts 14h00

 Venue opens 90 minutes before show for snacks/drinks. No alcohol may be brought onto the premises.

Cell 0824998636

Book: roland@stansell.co.za or Webtickets http://events.durbantheatre.com/

102 MINUTES: INSIDE THE TOWERS

 

History Channel

September 11

Friday 21h00

 

On 9/11 the whole world watched the Twin Towers on television, and in the years since we’ve seen almost every angle replayed. But on the 25th anniversary we’ll experience first person stories for the first time from a POV we couldn’t see, revealing what they heard and what they saw - from the inside out.

Over the course of 102 minutes, the inhabitants of these buildings, plus first responders racing to the rescue, lived their own harrowing narratives, scattered throughout the buildings. From window washers to lobby staff, we gather never-before heard accounts of life-or-death struggles and heroism from throughout the towers.

Using new first-person interviews with survivors and video effects that give enlightening detail from a new perspective, the programme will create a factual record of what they experienced on 9/11 as it happened, through their points of view... from inside the towers.

Promo here - https://youtu.be/a8-2EkzlueA

TRIBUTE TO JUAN BURGERS FROM RAPHAEL VILAKAZI

 

(Juan Burgers - Pic by Val Adamson)

 

Tribute by Raphael Vilakazi (opera singer and producer)

 I am shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of Juan Burgers. A great Maestro and a musician who did not just play music, but he created the space for others to find their own voices in the music space. Juan was robust, feisty and a perfectionist in a rehearsal room as well as on stage.

 Juan crossed barriers in the 1980's when it was difficult to enter townships, and at the time he stood apart. He criss-crossed different townships in the province of KwaZulu-Natal to accompany school choirs and community adult choirs. A white musician who rose above race, colour and creed, who was only motivated by serving classical musicians irrespective of their background.

 I met Juan for the 1st time in 1987 when I auditioned for the NAPAC Ad-hoc Chorus at the Playhouse in Durban, he saw potential in me and gave me the chance. I can safely say that he played a pivotal role in our country to open doors for black opera singers when the rest of South Africa kept them shut.

 Juan's own talent was undeniable, his greatest masterpiece was not just his piano playing, the music he wrote, his conducting, the choirs he accompanied as a pianist or the opera singers he coached and trained. His greatest masterpiece gift is the community of artists he inspired, encouraged, lifted up and built in the performing arts space in our country, some of whom are building singing careers here in South Africa and in different parts of the World. 

 He became a stepping stone for so many dreams, and he was an ultimate mentor for a lot of young opera singers who could not afford a single singing lesson. Thinking of a great choir, the audience watches a performance taking place on stage, but the music comes together because someone is directing that performance, ensuring tempo, diction, phrasing, voice balance and blending of the voices during the performance. To fellow musicians, Juan Burgers was that guiding light for so many of us.

He saw potential, opened doors for so many of us and he did not want to be the only loud voice in the room, instead he cared about making certain that others were also heard. In our space, he planted an entire forest. Juan shared the spotlight with his mentees by creating and affording performing opportunities to them. Personally, I was afforded quite a number of solo performing opportunities by Juan Burgers, either in the NAPAC Singers when I was still a chorus member or outside the Chorus when I was appointed as a soloist by NAPAC.

I am one of the lucky musicians who had an opportunity to work with this great son of our soil, not only as a mentee but as his equal on stage. In 2015, I had the privilege to produce his first opera called Ubuntu The Opera, which had its World Premiere in November 2015 at the Playhouse Opera Theatre, Durban. I am humbled that he afforded me the opportunity to produce his masterpiece.

Thank you, Juan for teaching us how to listen during rehearsals and how to collaborate with others. We appreciate that you were very much generous with your gifts, and you demonstrated to us that music is not a competition, but it is a gift to be shared. Yes, you may have put down your instrument now, and we may not be hearing your physical voice in any of our rehearsal rooms, but to us you are not gone.

We hear your teachings through the voices of so many opera singers and other artists you mentored. Your own voice is heard in every bit of success achieved by the singers you encouraged and helped. The music you composed is not over, it is being sung right this moment in different parts of the world by your mentees and by all those who appreciated your artistry.

Thank you for making our performing arts space so much brighter, and very much beautiful for generations to come. My heartfelt condolences to your family for losing a son, and to the entire classical music sector for losing such fine musician.

Rest in Eternal Peace, Juan.

 

Raphael Vilakazi (Opera Singer and Producer)

“GOD’S WORK” FOR WORLDWIDE SALES

 

(Left:  Thobani Nzuza)

 

MAD solutions boards second South African film God’s Work for worldwide sales.

MAD World, the global sales arm of Cairo-based MAD Solutions, has boarded South African feature God’s Work, written and directed by Durban-based filmmaker Michael James, for worldwide sales.

The deal marks the second South African title represented by MAD World in collaboration with Mojo Entertainment, following the company’s partnership on Zamo Mkhwanazi’s Laundry (Uhlanjululo). The latter marked MAD Solutions’ first acquisition of a non-Arab title, as the company continues to expand its international activities and build relationships with filmmakers and production companies beyond the Arab world.

Produced by Sithabile Mkhize under Maverick Resistance, God’s Work is a 2025 South African feature set in the streets of Durban, where six unhoused men find fragile refuge in a crumbling building while navigating violence, indifferent authorities and a society that has pushed them to its margins.

Blending social drama with psychological and surreal elements, the film moves between the characters’ external reality and their memories, visions and inner worlds. Through this shifting perspective, James explores the ways in which imagination, myth and memory can become intertwined with the experience of survival.

The film had its world premiere at the Durban International Film Festival and subsequently screened at the Luxor African Film Festival, marking its Arab-world premiere.

Alaa Karkouti and Maher Diab, Co-Presidents of MAD World, said: “God’s Work is exactly the kind of bold and distinctive filmmaking that we believe deserves to travel beyond its country of origin. Michael James has created a socially urgent yet formally adventurous film, using surrealism and fiction to take us inside the realities, memories and inner worlds of people living on the margins. Our collaboration with Mojo Entertainment on Laundry introduced us to a South African filmmaking ecosystem that we found incredibly exciting, and God’s Work allows us to continue that relationship while taking on a film whose voice is deeply rooted in its local reality yet speaks to universal questions of inequality, power, dignity and survival. We are very pleased to bring this second South African collaboration with Mojo to the international market.”

Sithabile Mkhize, Producer of God’s Work, said: “We are thrilled to have MAD Solutions come aboard. Their understanding of and enthusiasm for the film give us great confidence as God’s Work begins this important journey to audiences around the world. We believe MAD’s international reach and commitment to distinctive cinema will help the film connect with audiences and partners far beyond South Africa.”

For James, the film grew out of his experience working with unhoused communities in Durban during the COVID-19 lockdown. Invited initially to document people living in government-established camps, the filmmaker began participating in weekly workshops with a group of young people who identified themselves as filmmakers. The experience ultimately led him away from a conventional documentary approach and toward a fictional narrative that could explore the intersection of lived experience, imagination and memory.

James is a filmmaker, writer, academic and artist based in Durban whose work explores the intersections of myth, history, identity, race, gender, class and religion across film, theatre and academia. His previous feature, Dreams of Gomorrah, won three Simon Sabela Awards and two African Rising Star Awards in 2020. His documentary Free Education: The Story of Bonginkosi Khanyile premiered at the Encounters Documentary Film Festival in 2018 before receiving three awards at the African Diaspora Cinema Festival in Italy.

Producer Sithabile Mkhize is a screenwriter and creative producer based in Durban. Her previous feature, Dreams of Gomorrah, was acquired by MultiChoice/M-Net and received several award nominations. She has also produced documentaries for South African broadcaster e.tv and participated in international film-industry programmes including the Berlinale, Cannes Film Festival and the Trajectory training programme.

The film features Thobani Nzuza, Mbulelo Radebe, Zenzo Msomi, Nduduzo Khowa, Omega Mncube and Siya Xaba. Cinematography is by Jared Hinde, editing by Dionysios Xenos, with an original score by internationally-acclaimed composer and musician George Acogny.

God’s Work is produced by Maverick Resistance, with co-production by Marco Orsini and executive production by Toni Monty and Gary Springer. The film was made in association with the KwaZulu-Natal Film and Tourism Authority, the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa, Amafrika Films and Mojo Entertainment LLC, with support from the Durban Film Office, MAD World is handling worldwide sales.

 

TRIBUTE TO JUAN BURGERS

 

(Juan Burgers: photo by Val Adamson)

Author, journalist and columnist William Charlton-Perkins pays tribute to the late Juan Burgers

I was deeply saddened yesterday [Wednesday [September 9] to hear of the passing in Hermanus of my dear friend Juan Burgers. Juan was one of the most multi-skilled musicians to have worked in the South African performing arts diaspora over the past five decades.

Renowned for his prowess as a choral director, an extremely accomplished pianist, specialising in accompaniment, and, most particularly, perhaps, as a highly sought-after specialist singing teacher and performance coach.

An alumnus of the University of Pretoria and the University of Cape Town, he honed his skills as a musician, selectively absorbing the teachings of many professionals, most notably establishing ties with Emma Renzi and Dawn Brown. Burgers built on their teaching with his discovery of the ancient yogic technique of Mandra Sadhana, the spiritual practice of breath and sound.

Along with the bel canto school of Enrico Caruso, this underpinned his vocal technique across the decades. Working with virtually all the major performing arts institutions in his home country, as well as touring and working in India, Malaysia, Germany and France, he amassed a vast repertoire of choral works, operas, lieder, and musicals.

His career at home and abroad saw him collaborate with many of the world's leading conductors and soloists; it is a testament to Juan Burger’s reputation as a voice pedagogue extraordinaire that several of his students, not least the magnificent bass Reuben Mbonambi, are now pursuing successful careers abroad.

Likewise, in the field of choral conducting, Juan Burger’s imprint in conjuring minutely nuanced dynamics in his choristers’ delivery of cornerstone concert repertoire was palpable to cognoscenti throughout South Africa and beyond.

As a friend, Juan was a delight to be with on so many levels. I will miss him more than I can say. As he will be by so many others who valued his rare gifts, as well as his lovable foibles.

Sincere condolences to his brother Quintus and his sister, Anna Marie, and to all his friends and colleagues who cherished him. Fly with the angels, dearest Djarn. – William Charlton-Perkins

 

 

KZNPO EARLY SPRING SEASON CONCERT 3: REVIEW

 

KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra

World Symphony Series, Early Spring Season, Concert 3 (September 3, 2026)

The Playhouse Opera

Review by David Smith

 

With conductor Leon Bosch and pianists Xin Wang and Florian Koltun as guests, the last concert of the current season came with a ‘mostly Mozart’ bill of fare.

We were welcomed with Rossini’s Overture to The Barber of Seville, a perfect reminder of Bosch’s efficient and unaffected approach to his conducting. The familiarity of the ideas cannot impair the singular brilliance of Rossini’s overtures, which, while redolent of opera, are also superb concert works. Bosch succeeded in achieving tightness of ensemble and a buoyant atmosphere.

For two-piano compositions with orchestra - not that numerous - partnerships are frequently family affairs: spouses, sisters, fathers and sons, etc. (Our soloists Wang and Koltun are a married couple.) Such was the origin of Mozart’s double piano concerto K.365, which he wrote for himself and his sister to perform. That in itself sets a high bar, since both were child prodigies and then distinguished adult performers. Moreover, the score demands not only seamless precision between the two players (a sibling connection!) but contains stylistic features that give the work its identity, both as ‘Mozartean’ in a broad sense and as an especially fine example of the genre.

Unfortunately, the event came in below expectation. Matching two grand pianos is perhaps not the easiest task: it was obvious that one was rich and deep-toned, the other bright and crystalline. Yet the players’ approach did little to mitigate the imbalance, Koltun lunging into weighty bass passages with scant discretion. Notes were not always reliable. But it was the dutiful, rather inelegant effect of the playing that deprived the work of its joyous athleticism and created a less than beguiling slow movement. Nonetheless, the endeavours of the pianists and the orchestra together were pleasing enough to occasion an encore, a four-hand arrangement of J S Bach’s Sheep may safely graze. This was touchingly delivered and suggested that Wang and Koltun are happier playing at one piano in duet formation.

The final work, Mozart’s Symphony 39 (K.543), was destined to right matters. It really is ‘in another league’, and the response of the ensemble was in general very satisfying. The unusually mellow wind scoring (with clarinets and without the usual oboes) seemed to move players to a special conviction. Only in the Allegro first movement did First Violins quaver a little in some exposed passages. The winds, brass included, had much to contribute – ceremonial, melodic – but it was the tutti cohesion throughout the lyrical slow movement, the trenchant Minuet, and the driving finale, down to its last fading scale, that carried the day.

On November 12, 2026, the orchestra resumes its world symphony series with another truncated season of two concerts. - David Smith

 

For more information on the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra, click on the advert at the top right-hand side of this  page.

PEPONI REVIEW

 

(Pic by Val Adamson)

 

Who Gets to Frame Paradise? PEPONI Turns the Audience Into the Argument

By Nomaleti Khumalo (for JOMBA! KHULUMA 2026)

Edited by Clare Craighead

 

The most uncomfortable moment in PEPONI was also one of the most enjoyable.

Five audience members were invited onto the runway. We cheered. We voted. Somebody won.

Then a performer refused the result.

She stripped off the clothes, threw them across the stage and turned the fun back on us. In that instant, I realised that House of Wondar had not simply invited the audience to participate in paradise. It had given us power inside it - and then made us look at what we did with that power.

That is why I keep returning to one question after PEPONI: who gets to frame paradise?

The Tanzanian-based House of Wondar's debut stage production, directed and choreographed by Matthieu Nieto with dramaturgy by Koleka Putuma, asks whether paradise can be created here and now on the African continent. It does not answer by presenting a beautiful image. Instead, it keeps showing us how images are made.

A large wooden frame is carried through the performance. Sometimes it behaves like a window. Sometimes it becomes a television. Sometimes the performers stand inside it as if we are being asked to look at a picture. At one point, an imagined safari world is described rather than shown. We have to complete the picture ourselves.

For me, that is where the politics begins.

Africa has been framed for centuries by images produced for somebody else's gaze: wilderness, poverty, exoticism, danger, paradise. PEPONI's frame made me aware that a picture is never innocent. Somebody chooses its borders.

The performance then gives that logic a remote control.

Multiple performers speak at once, each presenting an object or idea as though it might hold the 'key' to life. A remote can mute and unmute them. The comedy of the device is sharp because the politics is familiar. Attention is power. To control the volume is to decide who gets heard.

What I found more interesting than the obvious metaphor was what the dancers did together. They could share the same music without moving identically. Different rhythms and phrases occupied the stage at once. Unity did not require sameness.

That offered a different model of paradise to the runway competition.

The runway asks us to rank. The ensemble asks us to coexist.

And then the runway traps us.

We enjoy choosing a winner. We experience the pleasure of judging. Only when the performer rejects the result do we realise that our participation has reproduced the very structure the work may be questioning. If the vote was choreographed, what else was? The cheering? The categories? Our confidence that choosing somebody meant empowering them?

This is where the audience becomes part of the argument rather than decoration around it.

After the protest, one performer remains in slower movement while the stage around her is still unsettled. That image mattered to me because refusal cannot be the whole of liberation. Throwing away what has been imposed creates an opening, but then something has to be built.

PEPONI does not give that reconstruction to us as a finished programme. It returns us to the body.

 

What can this body choose?

What can these bodies build together without needing to become identical?

Who is holding the frame?

Who is holding the remote?

And, perhaps most importantly, when an audience is given the power to choose, can it recognise the systems hidden inside its own choices?

 

PEPONI calls itself paradise.

Its sharper provocation is that paradise may begin when we stop consuming somebody else's picture and become accountable for what we place inside the frame. - Nomaleti Khumalo

 

ABOUT KHULUMA

JOMBA! KHULUMA is the festival’s young writers’ platform, run in collaboration with the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Drama and Production Studies programme. The writers are registered Honours students who engage closely with the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience through reviews, features, interviews and critical reflection. The platform is co-facilitated by Clare Craighead and Marcia Mzindle, who work with the writers through an ongoing editorial process that supports the development of distinctive critical voices while sharpening their attention to performance, politics, spectatorship and the conditions in which dance is made. In this way, KHULUMA functions both as a space for emerging arts journalism and as a record of how a new generation of writers is encountering, questioning and interpreting contemporary dance in South Africa.

 

ACCUMULATION OF UNACCOUNTABLE AWAKENINGS: REVIEW

 

JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience: Accumulation of Unaccountable Awakenings.

Review by Thembeka Chemane, associated with the Khuluma project.

 

On September 3, 2026, Accumulation of Unaccountable Awakenings from the Iron Skulls company was performed at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre as part of the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience.

From the beginning, the performance showed an atmosphere that was unsettling, mysterious, and emotionally-charged. Rather than relying on a conventional narrative, the work communicated through movement, sound, costume, lighting, and visual symbolism. It invited the audience to interpret the experiences of the performers through the body and the senses.

The performance began with performers positioned in the corners of the theatre, reading newspapers while dressed in dark clothing and with their faces partially-covered. Their slow movement towards the stage at once created a feeling of tension. The soundscape intensified this atmosphere, producing a sense of fear and horror. On stage, a performer sat in front of a table with a laptop, dressed in black, with hands and feet painted white. This visual contrast made the body appear almost ghost-like, suggesting a separation between the physical body and the self.

One of the most striking moments occurred when the performers slowly appeared from behind the couch, raising their hands while holding bowls. Newspapers were dropped onto the stage as they moved in a ritualistic manner. They placed the bowls down, drank from them, and later washed their hands and bodies with ashes. This action evoked ideas of death, cleansing, remembrance and rebirth. The use of ashes was particularly powerful because it suggested the remains of something that had already been destroyed, while the performers' movements suggested an attempt to awaken or recover from that destruction.

Movement became the central language of the performance. At several points, the performers moved backwards and forwards as if struggling against an invisible force. Their bodies communicated fear, uncertainty, and entrapment. The covered faces further reinforced this sense of invisibility and silencing. I found the use of gesture particularly effective because the performers often appeared to speak without words, allowing their bodies to communicate emotions that could not easily be verbalized.

Costume also contributed significantly to the meaning of the work. The contrast between skirts and trousers appeared to create different relationships between the performers, particularly through pushing, pulling, and resisting movements. At one point, a performer seemed trapped or consumed while another attempted to reach or hold them. The soundscape shifted from drums and unsettling sounds to a love song, creating a sudden emotional contrast. This transition suggested that even within experiences of fear and isolation, there remains a possibility of connection and finding one's way back to others.

Towards the end, the performers moved towards the front of the stage, picked up their purses and sang before exiting. The screen then showed a dancer alone in a dark space, reinforcing the feeling of isolation.

Accumulation of Unaccountable Awakenings was a thought-provoking performance that proved how the body can carry memories, fear and unspoken experiences. Its combination of movement, sound, and symbolism encouraged me to reflect on what it means to awaken, to be seen and, ultimately, to find a way back to oneself. - Thembeka Chemane

 

ABOUT KHULUMA

JOMBA! KHULUMA is the festival’s young writers’ platform, run in collaboration with the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Drama and Production Studies programme. The writers are registered Honours students who engage closely with the JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience through reviews, features, interviews and critical reflection. The platform is co-facilitated by Clare Craighead and Marcia Mzindle, who work with the writers through an ongoing editorial process that supports the development of distinctive critical voices while sharpening their attention to performance, politics, spectatorship and the conditions in which dance is made. In this way, KHULUMA functions both as a space for emerging arts journalism and as a record of how a new generation of writers is encountering, questioning and interpreting contemporary dance in South Africa.

 

MiTH EVENING SEPTEMBER 9

 

(Above: AlgoRythm)

 

MiTH brings another evening of live music to The Knoll Historic Guest Farm on September 9, 2026, where the Midlands comes together for a proper night out. For just R50, you can catch a hand-picked mix of local and national musicians and performers, with genres, styles and surprises changing from fortnight to fortnight. Grab something good to eat, order a drink, find a spot and settle in.

MiTH isn’t a concert where everyone listens and then goes home. It’s a night of discovering new music, bumping into old friends, meeting new ones and enjoying the wonderfully unpredictable business of live performance. Come curious. Come hungry. Come thirsty.

Most of all, come listen.

 

Venue: The Knoll Historic Guest Farm

Entrance: R50.00 (cash or Zapper at the door)

Info: 082 331 7271

 

20h45 – AlgoRythm

The background to Pietermaritzburg’s newest supergroup AlgoRythm reads like the perfect rock ’n roll mythos. It began in April 2026 when Colin Rowland (ex-Sultry Thread) invited Gareth Barry (ex-Zambucks), Barry Hosford (The Undaunted), Erik Wynia (ex-Brave New World) and Martin Gee (ex-Splayed Ferrets) to a spontaneous jam session at his Misty Mount home. After three songs, it was evident that the pedigree each member brought from their previous acts, meant they had the required ingredients for a hard-rocking, hard-working band. With multiple influences ranging from Creedence, Van Halen, Radiohead & Black Sabbath to Travis James, Albert Hammond and Simon & Garfunkel and everything in-between: AlgoRythm are set to be a crowd-pleaser with their foot-stomping riffs and nostalgic moments.

 

19h45 – cowboylynii

cowboylynii is a Country-Pop and Alt-Blues singer-songwriter from Durban, known for her emotive vocal range and heartfelt lyrics. She began singing and playing guitar as a teenager, performing many of her original songs at school talent shows and open-mic events. Most recently, she performed on the Treehouse Stage at Splashy Fen 2026, combining electric guitar and box drum to create a distinctive sound that complements her unique approach to storytelling.

Her musical influences include Koko Taylor, Labi Siffre, Whitney Houston and Dolly Parton, whose diverse styles have helped shape her own musical identity. She’ll be backed at MiTH by the Bruzas Brothers from The Name on the Drum.

 

19h00 – TChristian

Born in South Africa, TChristian is a versatile musician whose acoustic sound incorporates a wide range of guitar techniques, allowing him to create the energy and fullness of a one-man band on stage. He has performed at venues and events across South Africa, including jazz festivals, CD launches, restaurants and live music events. His distinctive style and adaptable performances are tailored to each audience, combining carefully-selected songs with fresh renditions of both classic and contemporary music. His repertoire spans jazz, soul, Afro-soul, Afro-pop, indie and African music.

TChristian has performed alongside artists from a wide range of genres, including Nosi Zulu, Mali Zulu, Simphiwe Dana, Themba Mkwena, Joyous Celebration, Nkanyiso and Nathi, DJ Kabila, Brewed Souls and Hlengiwe Mhlaba, among many other talented artists in the South African music industry. He released an album titled I Cry, along with several singles that add to the album’s body of work. His music has been shared with audiences through radio, social media and live performances at restaurants, musical events, parties and other venues across South Africa.

 

ABOUT MiTH

Food and cash bar available on site. The KZN Midlands’ favourite live music venue, MiTH is a platform for beginners, professionals and music lovers to celebrate the joy of live performance. Hosted every second Wednesday at The Knoll Historic Guest Farm, Hilton.

 

DIRECTIONS TO MiTH

Take the N3 to Hilton. Turn into Hilton Village and drive 5.2 km along Hilton Avenue, which becomes Dennis Shepstone Drive. Look for Knoll Drive on your right – the entrance to MiTH is the second left into The Knoll Historic Guest Farm. Info: 082 331 7271, www.mith.co.za or mithbookings@gmail.com

MUSIC FROM SCOTLAND

Music from Scotland is on Saturday September 19, 2026, starting at 14h00 in the DLI Hall.

You can expect a great afternoon of Scottish and Celtic music and dance.

Tickets are now available. For tickets and booking you can phone Ken Mustard at 031 702 5311 during office hours or email me at kenmustard@mcclungs.co.za