MUSIC FOR TRUMPET AND ORGAN

A glorious winter morning concert of movie soundtracks for trumpet and organ will be performed at St Cyprian’s Church on Sunday August 23 at 11h00 featuring Maggie Deppe on organ and Yosuke Matsui, on trumpet.

Something different this time - the programme, titled Music from the Movies – will feature an array of well-known film soundtracks adapted to be performed on organ and trumpet.

Yosuke Matsui is a Yamaha performing artist, and principal trumpet player with the KZN Philharmonic. He holds a master’s degree from Tokyo University of Fine Arts and Music. His expertise ranges across various types of trumpets. Margrit Deppe on organ is the co-principal oboe and cor anglais at the KZN Philharmonic. She heads the Durban Chamber Choir, and she teaches piano. She has her BA honours at the University of KZN.

Tickets are R130 / R100 concessions at Quicket in advance, or cash at the door.

There is off-road and guarded parking at the church. Tea and coffee will be served after the concert, and the Vicar’s Arms pub will be open.

St Cyprians is at 603 Umbilo Road, Durban.

KZNPO EARLY SPRING SEASON 2026

 

The KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra’s three concert 2026 Winter Season runs in The Playhouse Opera on Thursday August 20 and 27 and September 3, starting at 19h00.

There is a strongly-female presence throughout the season, to honour Women’s month - two of the three conductors, and three of the four soloists are women.

Season Tickets available through KZN Phil office on 031 369 9438 or info@kznphil.org.za and individual tickets through Quicket.

 

For those preferring not to self-drive to the concerts, there is a park and ride bus service offered from major arterial points: Upper Highway (St Agnes Church, dep 17h50) North Coast (Grace Family Church, dep 18h10); Westville (Westville Senior Primary, dep 18h10) and Berea (Caister Lodge, dep 18h20).

Bus tickets though 031 369 9438 or info@kznphil.org.za and individual tickets through Quicket.

 

Good to Know

Thursday, August 20, 2026

Time: 19h00

Venue: Playhouse Opera Theatre, 231 Anton Lembede Street, Durban

Conductor: Barbara Dragan

Soloist: Ziata Chochieva, piano

 

Thursday, 27 August 2026

Time: 19h00

Venue: Playhouse Opera Theatre, 231 Anton Lembede Street, Durban

Conductor: Debora Waldman

Soloist: Lidia Baich, violin

 

Thursday, September 3, 2026

Time: 19h00

Venue: Playhouse Opera Theatre, 231 Anton Lembede Street, Durban

Conductor: Leon Bosch

Soloist: Xin Wang and Florian Koltun, piano

MAKE UP MASTERCLASS

Colour Confidence Make up Masterclass

Pavilion Shopping Centre – Sat August 22, 2026

Ahead of the start of spring, Kryolan professional make-up, will be hosting three interactive masterclass demos on seasonal make-up colours, styles and trends, at the Pavilion Fountain Court on Saturday August 22.

Spring heralds fresh energy, a new colour palette and discarding winter woollies. In preparation of the change in season and in wardrobe, Kryolan Professional Make-up will be hosting three inspiring, interactive sessions where professional artists will demonstrate practical techniques to incorporate colour into one’s makeup routine in a way that feels wearable, modern and unique.

The masterclasses will be held at the Fountain Court on Saturday, August 22 at 10h00 to 11h30; 12h30 to 14h00 and 15h00 to 16h30.

For tickets - visit kryolan.com

EUROPEAN FILM FESTIVAL 2026

The European Film Festival 2026 is here and runs from September 17 to 27, 2026.

10 days, four cities and one opportunity to see 12 of the best films in current European cinema, fresh from Cannes, Venice, Berlin and beyond, on the big screen as intended.

Featuring award-winning films by giants of European cinema alongside bold new voices and starring Europe’s biggest names: this year's films follow families of all kinds - biological, chosen, broken, rebuilding - fighting to hold together and carve out a future against everything working to pull them apart.

Now in its 13th year, the Festival takes place across four cities: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban.

The films explore the theme of FAMILY as an ever-evolving background of history, belonging and identity. Family in all its many forms as the foundation of resilience and creativity in an uncertain age.

The Festival also pays tribute to the vision and tireless dedication of its former co-director Peter Rorvik, who sadly passed away last month. Fittingly, in line with this year’s theme of Family, Peter was not only the father of the European Film Festival in South Africa but also a passionate supporter of generations of film lovers, arts managers and filmmakers across South Africa for decades.

The 13th European Film Festival South Africa brings together 12 films from 12 European countries. Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom. Ukraine's participation is supported by Austria, Flanders, the European Union, and the United Kingdom.

Follow on social media for exciting title reveals and updates www.eurofilmfest.co.za

FROM STAGE TO SCREEN II

 

(Above: Durban City Orchestra)

 

Durban City Orchestra presents more songs from film and musical theatre in From Stage to Screen ll as follows:

 

Milkwood Theatre, Durban North: Sun August 16 at 15h30

St Agnes, Kloof: Sun August 23 at 15h30

St Thomas Church: Sun August 30 at 15h00

 

The Durban City Orchestra presents their second concert series of the year, following on from their hugely successful homage to music from film and musical theatre – with a second programme of carefully-curated glorious bouquet of themes from much loved stage and screen productions to be performed throughout Women’s Month.

Booking is through Quicket

WORLD-RENOWNED DANCE MAKERS FOR JOMBA

 

World-renowned dance makers to share skills and techniques at JOMBA! Workshops

From August 25 to September 6, 2026, the Centre for Creative Arts (UKZN) presents the 28th edition of JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, showcasing an international and national line-up of choreographers and companies at Durban's Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, Square Space Theatre, Stable Theatre and the KZNSA Gallery.

Alongside its main stage programme, JOMBA! invites the dance community into the studio for a series of free workshops led by choreographers and companies featured on this year's festival programme.

These workshops give dancers direct access to the techniques, philosophies and creative processes of artists visiting Durban from South Africa, France, Nigeria/Ireland, Spain and Jamaica.

 

Presenting the workshops:

PJ Sabbagha (South Africa) - JOMBA!'s 2026 Legacy Artist leads an improvisation session built around listening: to the self, to others, and to the space itself.

Mamela Nyamza (South Africa) - fresh from her 2026 Silver Lion win at the Venice Biennale, Nyamza's Body & Sound workshop turns the body into an instrument of vocal and physical expression.

Vincent Mantsoe (France/South Africa) - shares his KOBA Technique, a "physical meditation" fusing traditional and contemporary movement in search of identity.

Mufutau Yusuf (Nigeria/Ireland) - leads Your Own Groove, a playful, inclusive improvisation workshop open to dancers of all experience levels.

Iron Skulls Co. (Spain), with Tebby Ramasike - Diego Garrido, Moisés "Moe" Gordo Gómez and Ramasike guide participants through the meeting point of Theatrical Breakin' and Afro-Butoh, set to live music.

Dr L'Antoinette Stines (Jamaica) - the creator of L'Antech, the first Anglo-Caribbean dance technique, leads a class rooted in Kumina, Bruckins, Nyabinghi, Dancehall and other ancestral forms, accompanied by L'Acadco dancers and drummers.

 

Two further closed sessions round out the programme: Ugandan dance artist Joseph Tebandeke works with UKZN's third-year dance students on access and belonging in dance practice, and the Introdans Education Team (Netherlands) shares its dance education methods with Edgewood Campus trainee teachers and with youth from the KwaMashu School of Dance Theatre.

 

Workshop Schedule

Venue: UKZN Howard College Campus, Drama and Performance Studies - Dance Studio

 

1.Wednesday, August 26: 16h30 – 18h00: PJ Sabbagha (South Africa) - improvisation workshop

2.Thursday, August 27: 16h30 – 18h00: Mamela Nyamza (South Africa) - "Body & Sound"

3.Friday, 28 August: 4.30 - 6pm: Vincent Mantsoe (France/South Africa) - KOBA Technique

4.Saturday, August 29: 10h00 – 11h30: Mufutau Yusuf (Nigeria/Ireland) - "Your Own Groove"

5.Tuesday, September 1: 16h30 – 18h00: Iron Skulls Co. (Spain), with Tebby Ramasike

6.Wednesday, September 2: 16h30 – 18h00: Dr L'Antoinette Stines (Jamaica) - L'Antech technique, with L'Acadco dancers and drummers

 

All open workshops are free of charge, but booking is essential and spaces are limited.

Bookings can be made through Thobile Maphanga at 2024jomba@gmail.com

Open workshops are for dancers aged 16 and older.

More info about JOMBA! can be found on the website: https://jomba.ukzn.ac.za/

NB: 

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

MiTH LINEUP 12 AUGUST 2026

 

(Above: Hooligoose)

The music you love in the place you love with the people you love. Join up for a very special MiTH – the Midlands’ beloved Music in The Hills hosted at The Knoll Historic Guest Farm. For just R50, you get access to the perfect blend of great music, and there’s good food, familiar faces, and drinks on sale. Every MiTH night is its own unique little treasure chest.

 

Venue: The Knoll Historic Guest Farm

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

Info: 082 331 7271

 

8:40pm – Hooligoose

Meet Hooligoose, a funky rock trio that brings a fresh groove sound to the stage. Fronted by a dynamic vocalist with a passion for soulful melodies, the band is anchored by the steady, thumping bass lines of Malcolm. Rounding out the line-up is Ethan, the prodigious 13-year-old drummer, and son of the lead vocalist, whose youthful energy and killer beats drive the band’s funky rock pulse.

Formed out of friendship, family, and a shared love for music that makes you move, Hooligoose delivers a sound that’s equal parts gritty and playful, drawing inspiration from the likes of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Parliament-Funkadelic, and classic rock swagger. Hooligoose isn’t just a band, it’s a celebration of connection, creativity, and the power of funk-infused rock.

 

 7:40pm – Staytree

Meet Staytree, the coolest trio of rockers ever to hit the stage! Made up of three brothers, this band is all about big energy, wild riffs, and having fun. With 13-year-old Ethan on drums, 12-year-old Rylee rocking the guitar, and 10-year-old Shaun bringing the noise on bass, Staytree is a force to be reckoned with. Their name, Staytree, comes from their mom, Stacey: “the tree that holds us together”.

Inspired by bands like Just Jinger, Prime Circle, Creed, Imagine Dragons, Green Day, The Beatles and many more, Staytree mixes catchy beats with lyrics about just being kids.

 

 7:00pm - Erin Fourie

Erin Fourie is a South African singer best known as a Top 16 contestant on the 7th season of the M-Net reality competition Idols. Erin’s audition got her four “yes”es from the Judges in Durban, which means that she could stop looking for a teaching job and start focusing on her singing skills. She was a Top 10 finalist of South African Idols in 2011.

Since 2003, Erin Fourie has become a well-known name on the Midlands music circuit. As a solo artist, she has entertained at restaurants, coffee shops and events.

She has worked in musical theatre on big stage shows such as Godspell, Young, Gifted and Gorgeous, and The Durban Playhouse's 2016 production of The Sound of Music. Closer to home she has performed in While My Guitar, 50 Ways to Leave your Lover, and Ladies Sing the Blues.

She’s been playing guitar since she was 13 and is currently trying to master the ukulele. Erin has a PGCE as well as an Honours Degree in Drama (from UKZN in Pietermaritzburg). She is certain that the stage is where she belongs: be it performing or singing, there’s nowhere she’d rather be. Erin is one of Hilton’s best-loved vocalists and is an utter treat to listen to.

 

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

A NIGHT IN CUBA

 

The Latin Real Songbook Experience

The Centre for Jazz and Popular Music proudly presents A Night in Cuba: The Latin Real Songbook Experience by the Modern Jazz Trio on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, at 17h30.

Experience an unforgettable evening of Afro-Cuban and Latin jazz, celebrating the rich musical traditions of Cuba through vibrant rhythms, inspired improvisation, and the energy of dance culture—all viewed through a contemporary jazz lens.

The Modern Jazz Trio pays tribute to legendary artists including Michel Camilo, Paquito D'Rivera, Chucho Valdés, Tito Puente, and more, bringing their iconic music to life with fresh interpretations and dynamic performances.

 

The ensemble features:

David Langley – Piano & Keytar

Brayden Hore – Bass

Riley Giandhari – Drums

 

Special guest artists:

Leon Scharnick – Saxophone

Thabo Sikhakhane – Trumpet

Audiences can expect an exciting mix of salsa, Afro-Cuban jazz, and contemporary Latin jazz improvisation. This production showcases the versatility of these South African jazz musicians as they authentically engage with global jazz traditions while bringing their own distinctive artistic voices to the music.

 

Event Details

Date: Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Doors Open: 17h00. Performance: 17h30

 

Venue:

Centre for Jazz and Popular Music, Dennis Shepstone Building, Level 2

UKZN Howard College Campus

Access via Gates 3 or 8, Rick Turner Road

 

Tickets

General Admission: R130

Pensioners: R100

Students: R70

Tickets are available for cash purchase at the door.

 

COMMUNITY DAY & MARKET AT GLENWOOD VILLAGE

 

C is for Community at Glenwood Village …

And also for Chess, Crochet, Coffee, Cupcakes … & ChaChaCha!

All this will take place on August 15 from 09h00m until 14h00.

A fun community day and market will be held at Glenwood Village on Saturday August 15, 2026, celebrating an array of hobbies, pastimes and favourite things:  Crafts, Chess, Crochet, Coffee, Cupcakes & the Cha-Cha!

Dubbed C is for Community, the morning comprises the regular Glenwood Community Market with some very special guests.

From 10h30, for an hour, there will be dance demos by some of the fabulous Shall we Dance dancers from Razmatazz; Celtic Heartbeat and dance couples demonstrating the Cha-Cha-Cha, ahead of their season at the Playhouse from September 11 to 13.

Shall We Dance, has been running for more than three decades and is by far the city’s most endearing regular dance showcase. It reminds us of the huge fun, talent, fellowship and confidence-boost that joining a dance group can offer. Professional dancers share the stage with Durban dance studios, and the students from the International School of Performing Arts, in an array of ballroom, ballet, Bollywood, Irish, hip-hop and Latin at its finest. Tickets for Shall We Dance at Webtickets.

Saturday, August 15 is “World Granny Square Day” – so what better way to celebrate than invite some of the regulars from the 67 Blankets for Mandela initiative to be on hand with their knitting needles and crochet hooks to show us how it is done. So-called “granny hobbies” are making a huge comeback globally, especially among younger people, as a counterpoint to spending time on devices. So, bring along your crochet hooks, knitting needles and yarn and enjoy a morning of creative fellowship with fellow crafters.

The "67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day" initiative started in December 2013. It began when Nelson Mandela’s former assistant, Zelda la Grange, challenged philanthropist Carolyn Steyn to knit 67 blankets to give to people in need for Mandela Day, July 18, one for each year of public service by Nelson Mandela. The project has inspired literally thousands of blankets to be handmade and distributed to needy people and has inspired countless acts of goodwill to take place across South Africa every year on Mandela’s birthday.

There will be a chess board, checkers board and some colouring-in. There will be special board game demos and promos at Wzrd Trading card and board game café, alongside the market on the upper level.

Glenwood Village Community Market will boast vendors selling a glorious selection of market wares: vintage, bespoke, artisanal, craft, up-cycled and sustainable goodies – and great coffee and treats – to live music: Ilza Oosthuizen will be there on the piano

Shops in the Village will be also promoting hobbies and crafts, and cupcakes, so browsing among the shops is encouraged as well. Glenwood Village – your everyday store – is on the corner of Hunt and Che Guevara Roads, Glenwood.

For more information, visit www.glenwoodvillagemarket.co.za

 

28TH JOMBA! CONTEMPORARY DANCE EXPERIENCE

 

(PJ Sabbagha - photo by Christo Doherty)

 

JOMBA honours three giants of South African contemporary dance

Three of South Africa's most influential dance voices PJ Sabbagha, Mamela Nyamza and Vincent Mantsoe, feature at the 28th JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience this year, each bringing decades of artistic courage and innovation to the Durban stage.

The University of KwaZulu-Natal's Centre for Creative Arts presents the 28th JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience, a 13-day celebration of world-class contemporary dance running from August 25 to September 6, 2026. This year's festival is curated around the theme Choreographies of Activism: Moving Bodies as Disruptive Presencing.

Each year JOMBA! celebrates a South African artist whose contribution has fundamentally reshaped the country's dance landscape.

The festival opens on Tuesday August 25 with JOMBA! Legacy Artist PJ Sabbagha’s work Noah. Choreographer, curator and arts activist, founder and Artistic Director of the Forgotten Angle Theatre Collaborative, PJ Sabbagha has, for more than three decades, taken dance beyond urban centres and into rural communities, through initiatives including the Ebhudlweni Arts Centre and the internationally-respected My Body My Space Rural Public Arts Festival. As part of the Legacy celebration, audiences will experience Noah, the concluding chapter of Sabbagha's acclaimed Noah trilogy - a multimedia dance-theatre work reflecting on climate crisis, loss, memory and survival through the metaphor of the biblical flood.

 

(Mamela Nyamza - Grounded (2022) - Photo by Val Adamson)

 

Past JOMBA! Legacy Artist Mamela Nyamza returns to the festival hot-off receiving the prestigious Silver Lion for Dance at the 2026 Venice Biennale, one of the highest honours in international contemporary dance. 

Nyamza brings her new ensemble work The Herd/Less to JOMBA!, a visually-arresting meditation on community, conformity, vulnerability and survival. Known for her fearless, politically-incisive choreographic language, Nyamza's return confirms her place as one of Africa's most important contemporary artists.

 

(Vincent Mantsoe)

Internationally-celebrated choreographer and performer Vincent Mantsoe joins the Legacy line-up with his new solo, Desert Poems. 

Mantsoe's deeply-embodied practice has long bridged ancestral knowledge with contemporary performance, and this intimate new work offers a meditation on endurance, spirituality and transformation - reaffirming why he remains one of South Africa's most respected dance artists on the world stage.

 

All three artists will also lead-free public workshops during the festival, giving Durban's dance community direct access to some of the country's most significant choreographic minds. Booking for workshops is essential.

Audiences can look forward to a rare convergence of three defining voices in South African contemporary dance with their works reflecting decades of artistic courage, activism and innovation. This is an unmissable opportunity to experience South African dance at its most powerful.

The festival hosts talks, panel discussions, workshops, performances and residencies.

For more information got to www.jomba.ukzn.ac.za

To book for performances, go to Webtickets: https://jomba.ukzn.ac.za

Special full festival passes at a discounted rate are available. To book for workshops email: Thobile Maphanga on 2024jomba@gmail.com

NB: For further information on the Centre for Creative Arts, click on the advert block to the right of this article

 

CONSTELLATIONS FOR HILTON ARTS FESTIVAL

 

(Above: Mark Elderkin & Mwenya Kabwe)

 

Nick Payne’s Constellations will take part in the Hilton Arts Festival Theatre from August 7 to 9.

Directed by industry luminary and renowned choreographer Jay Pather (The Firebird; Bridling; Hold Still; Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre), Constellations is a spellbinding exploration of love, choices quantum theory, and infinite possibility for heartbreak or for hope.

Through a kaleidoscope of moments between two people, it asks what might happen if every version of our lives existed at once - and whether love can endure across them all.

The stellar cast features Mark Elderkin (Speelgoed van Glas/The Glass Menagerie; Amadeus; A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Mwenya Kabwe (Hold Still; Yellowman; mAnJE! MaNje (an epic)).

Production and lighting design are by Wolf Britz and costume design by Michaeline Wessels.

Marianne, a physicist, and Roland, a beekeeper, meet at a barbeque. They hit it off, and go for a drink. Or perhaps they don’t. They go home together, or maybe they go their separate ways. Perhaps Marianne is engaged to someone else, perhaps Roland is. Maybe she breaks his heart, maybe he breaks hers. Perhaps they come together and their love story can finally take root and grow, or perhaps it will be tragically cut short.

Constellations contemplates how even the smallest change in our lives can dramatically alter the course we take.

Director Jay Pather says: “We have all experienced an 'if only' moment. What if I had done something differently, said something else? Would it have worked out better? Constellations is a remarkable play that evokes this human frailty through compelling text, sometimes hilarious, sometimes heart-wrenching that builds steadily with the inevitability of ancient ritual and Greek drama.”

Julie-Anne McDowell, founder of How Now Brown Cow, adds: “In an increasingly fast-paced world filled with AI images and fake news, theatre remains a vital medium to share stories, understand each other and create connection. At How Now Brown Cow, we believe storytelling is not an escape from reality, but a way to understand it. The stories we choose to tell are driven by urgency, humanity, and the need to spark conversation that extends.

“Constellations is a captivating journey of celebrating choices, questioning free will versus destiny, and considering infinite possibilities. Together, these productions reflect the duality of our existence - the personal and the political, the tender and the confronting. They ask us to look more closely at ourselves, at each other, and at the systems we live within.”

Running time: 1 hr 15mins no interval

 

Venue: Main Theatre

Start time: Sat 12h30: Sun 10h00

Ticket Price: R220

Genre / age restriction: Drama

Suitability: All ages

 

Booking through Webtickets

THE SECRET SOCIETY OF LIBRARIANS: REVIEW

 

Thompson’s level of research is impressive, both of conditions during the Blitz and of the horrors of the ghetto, (Review by Margaret von Klemperer, courtesy of The Witness)

 

Kate Thompson, like all writers, is unsurprisingly a great proponent of reading – and libraries, book clubs and any other way of getting books to people. And The Secret Society Of Librarians is something that in these days of social media and the instant gratification of scrolling on devices needs to be emphasized.

 As she writes in the foreword to this novel, while explaining the genesis of her story which was meeting a survivor of two ghettos and three concentration camps, “reading is resistance”.

The main part of the book is set during the second World War, alternating between London in the days of the Blitz and the horrific conditions of the ghetto in Lodz in Poland. The two main characters, Joyce and Dorotha, had met before the war at a library conference, and, with another group of women librarians, had set up their secret society – a way of maintaining their friendship and supporting their mutual interest in reading. This was something that would become ever more important in the dark days ahead as the availability of books became a huge comfort to people enduring the horrors of war, offering both an escape and a way to resist.

Dorotha is a librarian in Lodz, and once the Nazis have taken Poland she is confined to the ghetto but still endeavours to get books to those trapped with her. And as more and more people are deported, she tries to save their books, and deliver them to others.

As the net closes in on the Jews of Poland, she manages to hide the bulletins she has written to the secret society but has been unable to post. They will be found after the war.

Before the ghetto was set up, she was able to get her younger sister, Adela, out of Poland and to Joyce in London. And, even after their library and their home were bombed, the two of them managed to keep their work going, from a mobile library van – a first in Britain. The sheer awfulness of the Blitz is drawn in graphic detail in the novel.

Thompson’s level of research is impressive, both of conditions during the Blitz and of the horrors of the ghetto. There is a lengthy historical note at the end of the novel, which details the accuracy of the background to the book, and adds a great deal to the story.

Thompson has brought into focus parts of the war that have often been overlooked such as life in the ghettos, whereas we hear more, both in fiction and non-fiction, about the camps. She deals, particularly towards the end of the book, with the tragic results of survivors’ guilt.

However, I do feel that the main weakness of the novel lies in its characterization. Characters are either all good or all bad – there is little nuance – and this, along with what can only be described as an overdose of warm fuzzies, detracts from an otherwise impressive work. - Margaret von Klemperer

Published by Hodder & Stoughton: ISBN 978-1-399-74638-0