BANTU’S CLEF

 

(Leon Scharnick  and Milton Chissano)

 

The Centre for Jazz and Popular Music (CJPM) proudly presents Bantu’s Clef on Wednesday May 20, 2026, at 17h30.

Consisting of Milton Chissano (Guitar); Leon Scharnick (Alto and Tenor saxes); Doctor Vezi (Electric bass guitar); Albert Chemane (Drums); featuring Zoe the Seed (vocals), Bantu’s Clef’s music is characterized as instrumental World Music with strong influences of African rhythms from the Bantu people. It interlocks with various others musical influences such as African ethnic music, American jazz, Latin American music as well as aspirations from Baroque music and other genres of music.

Bantu’s Clef sound is presented in a language or aesthetic located within the expression of contemporary jazz. It includes interpretations of other composers from Mozambique, South Africa, Latin America and Bollywood music. Bantu’s Clef proposes a night of melo-rhythmic music that appeals for both dancing and listening with harmonic structures that travel from basic to complex, vesting the melodies with a lyrical aesthetic inspired in African chants in dialogue with the universe.

 

Like jazz, it also includes improvisation on the form, the musicians have the freedom to express what is in their souls.

 

Event details:

Bantu’s Clef

Wednesday May 20, 2026

Doors open at 17h00

Music at 17h30

Tickets R130 (R100 pensioners, R70 students R70) - cash at the door

 

UKZN, Howard College Campus. Dennis Shepstone Building level 2

Centre for Jazz and Popular Music

Use Gates 3 or 8 off Rick Turner Road

36 AFRICAN FILM PROJECTS SELECTED FOR 17TH DURBAN’S FILMMART

Thirty-six African film projects have been selected for the 17th Durban FilmMart Africa’s leading film finance and co-production market that will now take place from October 9 to 12, in Durban, South Africa.

The market will present an array of projects, including 8 animation, 10 fiction features, 10 documentary features and 7 series projects in development at the Pitch and Finance Forum alongside a robust industry programme which will focus on current trends, innovations, and challenges faced by the industry. 

 

Maalene Reddy, DFMI director, says: "Our stories are our voices; they represent our culture, our history, our joy, our pain and our victories. DFM is honoured to present a unique selection of African stories that will add to the successes that have gone before. We look forward to following the journey of these projects for years to come, as we do with all our project alumni. The DFM provides an important platform, not only to showcase the creative work of filmmakers but also to support them in building a cross continental community, creating networks and access.”

The 36 selected projects will be given the opportunity to prepare for their participation at DFM with online one-on-one mentorship by leading industry experts to ensure that they are collaborator- and investor-ready when they get to Durban for the in-person pitch.

The 8 animation projects will receive additional support from industry experts through participation in the Digital Lab Africa (DLA) programme presented by DFM partner, Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct.

 

ANIMATED SERIES

-Beast Seeker

-Producer: Danielle Retief

-Director: Robyn Viljoen

-South Africa

-capoZOOeira

 

-Producers: Mary Waweru Wanjiku, Carlos Zerpa Bravo

-Director: Orlymar Paredes

-Kenya, Brazil

 

Hadu: The Series

Producer: Damilola Solesi

Director: Precious Anih

Nigeria

 

JUJU SOCCER

Producers: Oge Obasi, Somto Ajuluchukwu 

Director: C.J. Obasi

Nigeria

 

Nerve

Producer: Raffaella Delle Donne

Coproducer: Renee Van Reenen

Director: Tshepo Moche

South Africa

 

Sunday Morning

Producer: Nahom Abiy

Director: Minasie Terefe

Ethiopia

 

ANIMATED SHORT

In Her Hands

Producer: Gehad El Akhal

Director: Hagar Basiony

Egypt

 

Animated Feature

Midnight Metro

Producer: Wako Sefara

Director: Lesego Vorster

South Africa

 

Fiction Features

A touch of Paradise

Producer: Sarra Ben Hassen

Director: Houcem Slouli

Tunisia

 

Arbaa Shuhour wu Ashara Ayam (Four Months and Ten Days)

Producer: Alsamoual Hussein

Director: Alyaa Musa

Sudan

 

Fairway to Freedom

Producer: Tarina Patel

Director: Jahmil Qubeka

South Africa

 

HOLY COW

(selected at El Gouna 2025 through partnership)

Producer and Director: Asmae el  Moudir

Morocco

 

MOTHER THERESA

Producer: Shema Faustin 

Director: Mutiganda wa Nkunda

Rwanda

 

MIETA

Producer: Neil Brandt

Director: Carla Fonseca Mokgata

South Africa

 

Taht El Sama El Khadra' (Under Green Skies)

Producer: Yara Goubran

Director: Jad Chahine

Egypt

 

The Boy Who Spoke Static

Producer: Mathew Cerf

Director: The Agbajowo Collective

Nigeria

 

Waslap

(Selected through the 2025 DFM ACCESS)

Producer and Director: Batandwa Alperstein

South Africa

 

Vino Amargo (Bitter Wine)

Producer: David Franciscus

Director: Pablo Pinedo Bóveda

South Africa

 

Fiction Series

 

AGAIN

Producer: Giresse Kassonga

Director: Erickey Bahati

Democratic Republic of the Congo

 

Daddies

Producer: Cati Weinek

Director: Sean Mongie

South Africa

 

Fafi

Producer and Director: Dominique Jossie

South Africa

 

FISI (HYENA)

Producer: Mkamzee Mwatela

Director: Sanele Zulu

Kenya

 

Smoke & Mirrors

Producer: Luke Rous

Director: Jozua Malherbe

South Africa

 

The Coven (selected through DFM ACCESS)

Producer and Director: Sihle Mthembu

South Africa

 

Documentary

 

Documentary Series

Children of the Nile

Producer and Director: Tina Obo

Uganda

 

Documentary Features

Banat aljaziea alkhadra' (GREEN ISLAND'S GIRLS)

Producer: Amrosh Badr

Director: Rogena Zeinelabdein

Egypt

 

DESIGNING DIVIDE (selected at Talents Durban 2025)

Producer and Director: Jessie Ayles 

South Africa

 

Gwijo Nation

Producer: Quinton Fredericks

Director: Sesihle Manzini

South Africa

 

LE FIL ET LE MUR (THE THREAD AND THE WALL)

Producer and Director: Mouni Boullam

Algeria, France

 

MA NUIT DU DJOMELE (My Djomele Night)

Producer: Hicham Falah

Director: Barkima Nafissatou Laguempedo 

Burkina Faso

 

Majuto si Mjukuu (Heirs of no Regret)

Producer: Mumo Liku

Director: Saitabao Kaiyare

Kenya

 

MDANTSANE – HOME OF BOXING (selected through DFM ACCESS)

Producer and Director: Phumlani Veto 

South Africa

 

The Ones With The Tempered Flowers

Producer: Ivy Kiru

Director: Neema Ngelime

Tanzania

 

Urban Zulu: The Busi Mhlongo Story

Producer: Struan Douglas, coproducer: Vusi Mchunu

Director: Rehad Desai

South Africa

 

Waiting for Evolution

Producer and director: Karin Slater

South Africa

 

WHERE DO I BELONG?

Producer: Talal Afifi

Director: Ibrahim “Snoopy” Ahmed

Sudan

 

More information on this year’s theme can be found on the Durban FilmMart Institute’s website.

Delegate registration and programme details will be announced in due course.

The 17th edition Durban FilmMart is funded by the Durban Film Office, eThekwini Municipality, Ford Foundation, the National Film and Video Foundation and IEFTF.

 

About Durban FilmMart Institute

Durban FilmMart Institute is the business hub of the African film industry in a world where African professionals and content are globally competitive and celebrated. The mission of the Durban FilmMart Institute is to provide appropriate and effective programmes and services to promote, support and facilitate investment in the African film industry. The Durban FilmMart Institute runs year-round developmental programmes and an annual market (Durban FilmMart). The DFMI is the custodian of Filmmart.africa which is an online tool for filmmakers to connect and which we hope will enhance visibility for African content.  

 

THE RETURN OF ELVIS DU PISANIE: REVIEW

 

(Left: Ashley Dowds)

Paul Slabolepszy is ever so brilliant at weaving a story that is rooted in place and time and is nimbly able to transcend its geography and era - to find a universal home (Review by Shannon Kenny)

The Return of Elvis Du Pisanie recently seen at the Seabrooke Theatre @DHS.

Paul Slabolepszy is ever so brilliant at weaving a story that is rooted in place and time and is nimbly able to transcend its geography and era - to find a universal home. And he does so hilariously, poignantly, unapologetically. Slabolepszy is a great South African storyteller and playwright. And The Return of Elvis Du Pisanie is a great South African play.

In this incarnation of the one-hander, Slabolepszy directs Ashley Dowds in the title role - one first performed to much acclaim, by the playwright in the early 1990s. This production stays true to its original staging: a solitary lamppost, a slightly-raised pavement, stenciled with Union Crescent, a pack of beers at the post’s base. Lighting design, in the skilled and artful hands of the eminent Michael Taylor-Broderick, perfectly complements the action and mood. Slabolepszy and Dowds achieve the layering and world-building of a story full of light and shade, to great effect.

Dowds’ Eddie is compelling, riveting. Eddie has recently lost his job in sales and his will to live. It is on Union Crescent - with his thoughts about living and dying; questions about his past, present and purpose - that we meet him looking slightly dishevelled in his dark suit, collared shirt, slip-on shoes. In a moment of crisis some moments before, he has reached for the radio and is catapulted by an Elvis song to a life-defining moment in his childhood, 30 years prior, at that very spot on Union Crescent, opposite The Carlton bioscope. Elvis sightings and dreams, music and lyrics, play no small part in Eddie’s life.

The audience journeys with Eddie and the characters who populate his world, through a childhood and adolescence marked with the magic of the movies; annoying relatives and eccentric neighbours; relocation from the Modderfontein to Witbank; the joy of music, infatuation, triumphs, disappointments and incalculable grief - the very many things that indelibly define and alter one’s life.

Dowds masterfully embodies each character in voice and movement - Young Eddie; Nigel; gauche Uncle Albert; Mum; Dad; Dick Tracy; Lydia Swanepoel; Oom Carel; ol’ Joseph from the Cape, Elvis competition MC - breathing life into them, inviting us to allow them and all their messiness, a seat in our consciousness. We are so invested in each character that of course we cannot help but be genuinely convulsed with laughter when Borisssss achieves what he is set out to do. And how could we not be convinced that Eddie’s Elvis is the clear winner with All Shook Up.

While never shy of nostalgia, the story bears nary a hint of triteness. Slabolepszy is a master at carrying South Africa’s complexity in his storytelling - a wicks bubblegum well past its chewed-by date; the curfew siren that equally terrifies, on opposite sides of the dam, the black mine workers and Mrs du Pisanie a post-war transplant to South Africa from the north of England; Mr Moosa of ‘the corner Greek;’ Oom Carel and Joseph’s relationship; Dad’s trauma response mirroring events in South Africa of the early 1990s. 

The Return of Elvis du Pisanie - a story of love and loss, of displacement and home; and healing - still mesmerises, delights and gut-punches its way well into the 21st century, with Ashley Dowds as Eddie “Elvis” Du Pisanie. Kudos! – Shannon Kenny

REINTRODUCTIONS: EXHIBITION AND SPACE OPENING

Art-ists Collective (AC) is currently hosting an exhibition titled Reintroductions.

Reintroductions borrows from the cadence of an iconic refrain—part announcement, part return. The exhibition brings together a group of artists whose practices have taken shape within the Maingate building environment where the newly-founded Art-ists Collective (AC) is now resident.

The exhibition features nine artists in total: Sthenjwa Luthuli, Wonderbuhle, Nindya Bucktowar, Nikhil Tricam and Lusanda Ndita - artists who have studios in the Maingate Building and are part of the current community.

The exhibition also includes the contributions of Harry Lock, Paige Furness, Roger Jardine and Dane Stops, who are artists that have lent a hand in building cupboards, documenting the new site and supporting the collective, all actions which speak to a central ethos of AC: that artistic practice is sustained through collaboration, exchange and mutual support.

Reintroductions foregrounds a community shaped over time - artists who have shared space, resources, and knowledge, often creating opportunities where none existed. It is both a reflection and an invitation.

Space convener Niamh Walsh-Vorster emphasises this openness: “Durban is a great city to make things happen, and artists from outside this province are welcome to propose exhibitions and projects to share here.”

This call extends the exhibition’s premise beyond reintroduction, positioning AC as an active site for future collaboration and dialogue across South Africa.

 

Exhibition Details:

Venue: Art-ists Collective (AC), Durban

3 Southampton Street, Point, Durban

www.artistscollective.co.za

UHAMBO: THE JOURNEY

 Recently opened at the Schreiner Gallery at the Tatham Art Gallery in Pietermaritzburg, is Uhambo: The Journey which will run until Sunday, June 7 at 17h00.

UHambo: The Journey brings together three emerging artists whose work explores the space between inherited identity and self-authored identity. 

This is a collaboration that is nestled at an intersection of the prevailing impact of art education, patronage systems, and collectorship, reflecting how these factors shape, sustain, and give visibility to emerging artistic voices. Through drawing and ceramics pieces, their works reflect deeply personal narratives shaped by culture, memory and lived experience.

Although these three artists created work in separate places and spaces, a common theme threads through their practices: still emergent, their visual languages equally contribute to a dialogic culture where drawing from memory is both challenge and the goal, and accuracy is the shared intention - whether it is expressed through hyper realistic precision, sculptural formation, or naturalistic sensitivity.

"These artworks are a labour of love...

Each minute leads to hours...

This practice of making art is truly a labour of love."

 -Thobani Shozi

 

NB. Secure Parking space is available.

For more information contact Pinky Madlabane-Nkabinde, Art Education Officer (Tatham Art Gallery) on 033 392 2811 or email: Pinky.Nkabinde@msunduzi.gov.za

The Gallery is situated in (Commercial Road) Chief Albert Luthuli Street, Pietermaritzburg.

 

CONCERT FOR KZN YOUTH ORCHESTRA & KZNPO

The busy KZN Youth Orchestra will be performing a glorious Gala Concert this month with the KZN Philharmonic, on Sunday, May 17 at 15h00 at the Durban Jewish Club.

The concert features a carefully-curated and diverse repertoire that spans classical, romantic and modern music as well as some contemporary pieces.

Eight talented youth orchestra soloists will perform a variety of solo works accompanied by the KZNPO: Laila Jones on oboe; Eva Lai on flute; Gabriel Pechoux on vocals; Serena Nip on cello; Nonjabulo Khumalo, Sayuri Mahabeer, Kashmira Naidoo all on violin and Lance Martegoutte on trumpet.

The KZNPO will present selected orchestral items and the KZNYO will showcase their own repertoire. The concert will conclude with a grand finale featuring both orchestras performing together. The concert will be conducted by Chad Hendricks and Lykele Temmingh.

Conducted by Lykele Temmingh, former resident conductor of the KZNPO, and presented by Cathy Peacock, professional trumpeter and founding member of Platform Jazz, the KZNYO comprises young musicians from all around KZN province who are passionate about preserving and celebrating the enduring magic of orchestral music.

The KwaZulu-Natal Youth Orchestra is a group of talented young classical musicians, aged between 12 and 22 who rehearse and perform throughout the school year and play a wide range of classical, contemporary and African music. They are taught by professional musicians, many of whom are with the KZN Philharmonic.

Over the past 10 years, the orchestra has toured to Stellenbosch chamber festival, Germany, four times to the National Arts festival, three times to the Hilton arts festival, three times to music in the mountains to perform with the Drakensberg Boys school, three times to the South coast. They have performed in various schools’ festivals and at the Royal show two years running and several times at the Botanic Gardens and various retirement complexes around Durban, Margate and Umdoni, Pietermaritzburg and Howick, and various public performances.

The exuberant and talented young performers are a joy to behold. Many great musicians have passed through our doors and continue to make their mark in the music industry

Details:

Gala Concert: Together with the KZN Philharmonic

Durban Jewish Club, main hall.

Sunday, 17 May at 15h00

Tickets available at Quicket

General Admission: R150 / Pensioners & Students: R80

 

For more information, contact: Cathy – 082 349 8362

LOST & FOUND: SIYANQOBA MTHETHWA

 

(Siyanqoba Mthethwa)

The Centre for Jazz and Popular Music is proud to present “Lost & Found”, a live performance by acclaimed musician Siyanqoba Mthethwa, taking place on Wednesday, 13 May at 17h30 at the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Howard College campus.

Renowned for his vibrant and genre-blending sound, Mthethwa seamlessly fuses jazz, gospel, and African musical traditions. This performance follows the recent release of his EP Lost & Found, as well as his album Inevitable Jazz Edition, further cementing his place as an exciting voice in contemporary South African jazz.

Joining him on stage is the dynamic vocalist Unathi Mzekeli, alongside a talented band featuring Sbu Zondi on drums and Qhubekani Mthethwa on bass. Together, they promise an engaging and memorable live music experience.

Event Details:

Date: Wednesday, May 13 at 17h30

Venue: The Centre for Jazz and Popular Music, University of KwaZulu-Natal (Howard College)

 

Tickets: R130 (R100 Pensioners, R70 Students) available at the door (cash).

 

HEY HEY DIVORCÉ

Have you ever gone through a divorce? Well, Schalk Bezuidenhout has! And lucky for you, he has to talk about it. Actually ... he NEEDS to talk about it! Why? Because it's cheaper than therapy. That's why!

Hey Hey Divorcé is raw, real stand-up comedy at its finest. And maybe even a single tear running down the left cheek. This is (hopefully, for the love of all things good) the first and only show about divorce Schalk will ever do, so it is not to be missed!

The show runs at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre from May 14 to 17.

 

Tickets are through Webtickets at Pick n Pay outlets or online at https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/event.aspx?itemid=1590473720

Facebook URL: https://www.facebook.com/schalk.bezuidenhout.101

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/schalkiebez?igsh=MTF3NnFzbmJ1dDdpcw

Website: https://schalkbezuidenhout.com

FALLS THE SHADOW: REVIEW

 

Nicol’s view of contemporary society is one that can make readers very afraid at the same time as entertaining them. (Review by Margaret von Klemperer)

 

Here Mike Nicol, who is deservedly hailed as one of South Africa’s leading thriller writers, is launching a new series, this time centered on Captain Zara Dewane of the police’s Internal Crime Unit. If you have been following the horror show that is the Madlanga Commission, you might rightly assume that such a unit would have its hands full. Nicol helpfully provides a list of the characters at the beginning of the book, but while I don’t wish to give spoilers, it is a list that is going to diminish at an alarming pace as you read on.

The action starts when Zara and her sidekick Wynstan Adams are called to a cottage on the West Coast where a cop has shot his family and himself, and in the shed behind the cottage are a whole lot of stolen firearms. Some kind of corruption is obviously at play, but what Zara needs to find out is how deeply it goes. Local police are presumably involved, but this all seems to reach its tentacles much further into the hierarchy.

As well as dealing with potential criminals who outrank her, some by a very long way, Zara has a messy private life to contend with – something that seems to affect the vast majority of fictional cops – and also operates on a very short fuse which can complicate things. As Zara struggles to unravel the tangle of corrupt cops, stolen guns, gangsters, shady diamond dealers, and very dubious money transactions, the violence escalates. She is a target, and there is going to be a lot of collateral damage.

Nicol’s style is laconic and his storytelling is fast-paced. The picture of the South African police service – and South Africa in general - that he paints is deeply unsettling and disturbing, particularly as there is no reason to think that this is a fictional exaggeration. For some readers, this may all come a little too close to the bone – cosy crime it certainly is not. But one of the great strengths of good thriller writing is that it can draw a picture of the real world for readers who might otherwise bury their heads in the sand. Nicol’s view of contemporary society is one that can make readers very afraid at the same time as entertaining them. – Margaret von Klemperer

 

Falls The Shadow is published by Macmillan: ISBN 978-1-77010-946-9

BITTER WINTER

 

A powerful collision of talent on stage.

Written by acclaimed South African playwright Paul Slabolepszy and directed by Lesedi Job, Bitter Winter is a gripping and thought-provoking production featuring André Odendaal and Oarabile Ditsele.

The play follows revered classical actor Jean-Louis Lourens and rising television star Prosper Mangane as they find themselves unexpectedly thrown together at an audition for the blockbuster Six Guns at Sesriem.

As they wait for the arrival of a formidable American director, tension and rivalry begin to surface, shaped by their contrasting backgrounds and approaches to the craft. Yet, as the waiting continues, moments of humour, vulnerability and honesty unfold, revealing deeper truths about ambition, identity and the human condition.

Rich in wit and emotional depth, Bitter Winter explores the evolving landscape of the performing arts in South Africa while paying tribute to the enduring legacy of its theatre and screen icons. With compelling performances and sharp, intelligent writing, this production offers audiences an intimate and resonant theatrical experience that lingers long after the final curtain.

Performances take place on May 08 and 09, 2026, in the Playhouse Loft Theatre. Booking is at Webtickets

 

ABBA-SOLUTELY FABULOUS!

 

Northlands Bowling Club in Association with The Rhumbelow Theatre presents ABBA-SOLUTELY FABULOUS! featuring Aaron McIlroy, Lisa Bobbert and Marion Loudon.

The Mother’s Day Special show takes place on May 10 at 15h00. The venue opens 90 minutes before show

Looking for the perfect way to spoil Mom this Mother’s Day? Join us for an afternoon of music, laughter, and pure joy at Abba So-lutely Fabulous!

Starring the hilarious and talented trio Aaron McIlroy, Lisa Bobbert and Marion Loudon, this feel-good show is packed with all your favourite ABBA hits, outrageous comedy, unforgettable characters, and plenty of sing-along moments.

 

Expect:

-Iconic ABBA songs

-Laugh-out-loud comedy

-Interactive fun

-A chance to get up, sing along, and boogie with Mom!

 

Fun for all ages — come celebrate the moms in your life with music, laughter, and a whole lot of sparkle!

Bring your own picnic basket and make it a relaxed, festive day out with the whole family!

Bring food picnic baskets or buy at the venue. Full bar available (no alcohol may be brought on to the premises)

Tickets R200 (R180 under 13 and Northlands Bowling Club members)

Limited secure parking available   

Booking is essential on email:  roland@stansell.co.za, Webtickets or http://events.durbantheatre.com/

Northlands Bowling Club is located at 50 Margaret Maytom Avenue, Durban North

For more information call Cell 0824998636

 

CELEBRATE MOTHER’S DAY AT THE PAVILION

Celebrate Mother’s Day at the Pavilion with the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra at the Fountain Court on May 10 at 11h00 and 13h00.

The Pavilion Shopping Centre is honouring Mothers on Mother’s Day with two free concerts by the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra on Sunday May 10 at 11h00 and 13h00 and a charity gift-wrapping station for families to have their gifts beautifully wrapped.

The Pav is offering Mothers the gift of symphony with two special free hour-long Mother’s Day themed concerts by the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra with guest soloists, under the baton of resident conductor, Chad Hendricks.

In addition, the Pavilion have once more partnered with St Martins Diocesan Homes for Children, who will offer Gift-Wrapping Services to shoppers who spend R250 or more on a Mother’s Day gift at any of the 240 stores. The wrapping station will be available on the lower level, outside Woolworths and is operating from May 7 to 10.

All proceeds raised will be for the benefit of St Martins Diocesan Homes for Children. St Martin’s is one of the oldest children’s homes in the country, and provides care for over 75 vulnerable children at their facility in Glenwood.