Join Aaron McIlroy and Lisa Bobbert’s Comedy Night - a fundraiser for the Midlands Hospice.
This will take place on Saturday October 10 at 18h00 at The Netherwood Bullring in Nottingham Road.
A cash bar and food will be on sale.
Tickets are R250 and can be purchased through Hospice on 033 330 5257 or email marketing@midlandshospice.org.za
(Right: Aaron McIlroy)
From Ballito to Ramsgate everyone
is rugby mad!
Rugby Mad is Aaron
McIlroy’s high-energy, laugh-out-loud latest one-man comedy. Watch as Aaron
dives into the wildly passionate world of rugby, bringing to life a colourful
cast of characters who are completely obsessed with the game. From an
overenthusiastic referee and intense sideline coach to die-hard spectators who
live for every try, tackle, and controversial call, Rugby Mad captures the spirit, humour, and drama that surround
rugby culture.
With remarkable skill and physicality, McIlroy seamlessly transforms between characters, creating a fast-paced theatrical experience that is both hilarious and impressively crafted. At its heart, Rugby Mad is about passion, identity, and the things that unite people — making it just as enjoyable for those who’ve never watched a match as it is for devoted rugby lovers.
Directed by Bryan Hiles, Rugby Mad is relatable with all the characters instantly recognisable, and the energy - infectious. Rugby Mad promises a winning combination of comedy, charm, and theatrical flair.
Coming soon to Ashton International College, Ballito on Wednesday October 14 and Southcity Church in Ramsgate on Friday October 16. Performance time at both venues is 19h00
Bookings through Webtickets
The KZN Philharmonic Orchestra and The Durban Centre of the
South African Society of Music Teachers (SASMT) present THE KZN YOUNG
PERFORMERS CONCERT, where the cream of KZN's musical and vocal talent will
perform live on stage with Africa's premier Orchestra, under the baton of
Maestro Chad Hendricks.
The concert will take place in the Playhouse Drama on October 17 at 15h00.
Tickets from R60. Booked through Quicket.
Glenwood Presbyterian Church, 339 Esther Roberts Road, Glenwood: Saturday, October 10 at 14h30.
In what has become an annual event at Glenwood Presbyterian Church, there will be a musical concert on Saturday October 10 at 14h30. A Celebration of community through music. Different voices, One song. Students from the Opera School at UKZN known as “OSCA” will perform solos, duets and ensembles.
Their beautiful songs include, You Raise Me Up, and The Hallelujah Chorus. These singers are trained and led by Lionel Mkhwanazi. The Choir from Pinetown Girls’ High will also be singing, well known songs including All things Bright and Beautiful by Rutter, and Weeping.
The Girls are trained by Heather Dix.
For more information, or to buy tickets contact Heather on 0832258700, or Bernie at the Church Office on 031 2053717 or buy them at the door. Tickets prices are R60 and R40 (students and pensioners).
Stuart Talbot
presents walking tours of the Point: Sunset Walk from 17h00 until 18h00 and an
after-dark history walk from 19h00 – 20h00. Call Stuart to book: 083 384 4410.
Friday
Point Fridays: Art,
food, music, fashion and culture
Breakfast Collective
Night Market at the Point – Maingate Building, 170 Mahatma Gandhi Road from 17h30
Point Table Talks:
share conversations and stories: 18h00 until 19h00.
Point Saturday
Interactive day-long
event for creatives, with market - Art, food, music, architecture and culture.
11h00 until 16h00, 3 Southhampton, Point.
Pavilion Shopping Centre: October: Fri 2, Sat 3 and Sun 4
Johannesburg based urban circus troupe – The Cirk –returns to the Pavilion Shopping Centre this weekend offering free performances in the Fountain Court / Cinema Level.
The Cirk is dedicated to sharing the love of cirque arts and to inspire creative expression and physical performance art to bring the magic of cirque to everyone. They boast an extensive repertoire of specialty aerial and ground acts appropriate for all ages. They will host daily workshops offering hands-on activities and educational experiences, catering primarily to children aged 6-12 at the 11h00 show daily.
For more information check out Facebook, Twitter and Instagram or visit: http://www.thepav.co.za.
Entry is free and
all are welcome.
Shows are 11h00 / 13h30
and 15h30
For videos: https://www.youtube.com/@thecirk
(Sabelo Mlangeni :
Image courtesy of Ferrante Ferranti)
KZNSA Gallery has a new exhibition - Honeymoon.
The happily ever after?, a solo exhibition by acclaimed South African photographer
Sabelo Mlangeni, recently honoured with the James Barnor Prize (Arles, 2026),
recognising his contribution to contemporary photographic practice.
Sabelo Mlangeni graduated from the Market Photo Workshop in Johannesburg in 2004, where he currently lives and works. Recent solo exhibitions include Imvuselelo: The Revival at Cantor Arts Center, Stanford (2023) and Ngiyabona Phambili at the Institute of Ideas & Imagination, Paris (2023). His work has been widely exhibited locally and internationally, including at the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (2024), A4 Arts Foundation, Cape Town (2023), Haus der Kunst / The Walther Collection, Munich (2023), Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2021), Lagos Biennale (2019), Liverpool Biennale (2013) and the V&A Museum, London (2011).
Mlangeni has received several awards and fellowships, including the Columbia University II&I Fellowship (2022), Africa MediaWorks Photography Prize (2018) and Tollman Award for Visual Arts (2009). His work is held in major institutional collections including Tate Modern, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Johannesburg Art Gallery, the Art Institute of Chicago, KADIST and the Walther Collection.
Developed over the past five years, Honeymoon. The happily ever after? is the artist’s latest body of work, inspired by a honeymoon trip to eThekwini (Durban) following the release of his wedding documentary series, Isivumelwano.
The series interrogates the notion of ‘happily ever after’, and the problematics or shortcomings of such a concept within the context of the contemporary South African experience.
Divided into multiple chapters, the series serves as a portrait of the tropical seaside city of eThekwini, captured by Mlangeni in all its glamour and decay. Despite being the country’s third largest metropolis and its largest port of trade, eThekwini has been marred by years of political instability and neglect, environmental disaster and infrastructural collapse.
First presented at blank projects, Cape Town, in 2025, the exhibition now comes to eThekwini - the muse for this body of work.
Presented by KZNSA Gallery in partnership with blank projects, Cape Town, the exhibition runs until November 1, 2026
The KZNSA Gallery is located at 166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood, Durban
(Top row: Agrin Chen;
Aran Singh; Christele Amaud;
Middle row: Matthias
Walford; Rethabile Manoko; Siphe Myataza
Bottom row: Wan Yuan
Lai, Weiru Yan, Yichen Lyu Weiru)
Friends of Music and SASMT Durban are pleased to present
their annual concert showcasing up-and-coming young musicians who are in Grades
11 & 12 at school.
Taking place at the Durban Jewish Centre on Sunday, October 11, at 14h30, each student gives a mini recital so the programme will be varied from Haydn to Satie, Chopin to Gerou, Debussy to Sondheim and a host of others in between.
This year there are mainly pianists with some flute and voice for variety.
Pianists: Agrin Chen; Aran Singh; Christ`ėėele Amaud; Matthias Walford; Weiru Yan and Yichen Lyu
Flute: Rethabile Manoko and Wan Yuan Lai
Voice: Siphe Myataza
Come and support these young musicians as they perform on one of Durban’s most iconic stages in the classical music scene.
Tickets will be available at the door (cash only).
(Left: Zoe The Seed)
South African jazz artist Zoe the Seed brings Stories from the South to the Centre for
Jazz and Popular Music at UKZN, presenting an evocative evening of music,
storytelling and cultural memory.
Rooted in the rich traditions of South African jazz, Stories from the South explores the diverse cultures, languages and experiences that shape life in Southern Africa. The performance draws on Swati and Zulu cultural narratives, contemporary jazz and original compositions to tell stories of identity, heritage, love, resilience and community.
The project also confronts urgent social realities, including gender-based violence, using music as a space for reflection, dialogue and healing. Alongside these challenging narratives are stories of love and human connection — celebrating the resilience and humanity that continue to bind communities together.
For Zoe the Seed, the project is about more than performing music. It is about creating a living conversation between tradition and contemporary life, while celebrating the stories that make the South African experience both complex and deeply connected.
Zoe will be joined by a dynamic ensemble featuring Zibusiso Makhathini on piano, Senzo Mdamba on bass, Sbahle Mkhize on drum, Leon Sharnick on sax and Siyalo Zulu on trombone, bringing together musicians whose artistic voices are closely connected to the stories being told.
Stories from the South promises an intimate and thought-provoking journey through the sounds, memories and experiences of the region.
Event Details:
Date: Wednesday, 06 October 2026
Doors open: 17h00
Music starts: 17h30
Venue: Centre for Jazz and Popular Music, Dennis Shepstone
Building, Level 2, Howard College Campus, UKZN
General Admission R130 (R100 pensioners, R70 students)
Tickets: Cash at the door or at Webtickets Stories from the South
Getting there: Please use Gate 3 or Gate 8 off Rick Turner
Road.
Experience the music of Adele like never before, performed live by a string quartet in the breathtaking glow of candlelight.
Adele's greatest songs, beautifully reimagined at the Playhouse on October 3, 2026, at 20h00.
Celebrate some of Adele's most powerful and emotional songs, including Hello, Someone Like You, Skyfall, Easy On Me, Set Fire to the Rain and Rolling in the Deep.
Surrounded by the warm glow of thousands of candles, experience these unforgettable songs beautifully reimagined for strings in an intimate setting.
The concert will be performed by a String Quartet. Duration is approximately 60 minutes.
Age guidance: Ages 8+; guests under 16 must be accompanied by an adult
(Above: Dr Gcina Mhlophe)
Poetry Africa announced that storyteller, poet, playwright
and actress Dr Gcina Mhlophe will receive its 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award,
recognising more than four decades of contribution to South African oral
tradition, literature and theatre.
The award will be presented during the festival's 30th edition, running from October 5 to 10, 2026, at the Durban Playhouse.
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, added: “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.
NB:
To link to the Centre for Creative Arts website, click on the logo advert to the right of this article.
There are certainly
thriller elements, but there is more to the story than just that. (Review by
Margaret von Klemperer, courtesy of The Witness)
Mad Mabel is
billed as a “domestic thriller”. Crime writing is divided into all kinds of
genres these days – cosy crime, Scandi noir, hard-boiled and so on. But I am
not sure that domestic thriller with its hints of the cosy is really an
adequate description of what is an entertaining and quite complex read. There
are certainly thriller elements, but there is more to the story than just that.
Elsie Fitzpatrick lives in a quiet street in an Australian suburb. She is 81 years old, and keeps to herself, cultivating a curmudgeonly persona. She watches her neighbours but keeps them at arms’ length. That is not surprising: she has a past that she has no wish for them ever to know about. Once, back in her childhood, she was known as Mad Mabel, the youngest Australian ever to be convicted of murder.
Sally Hepworth tells the story in two parts – the then and the now. When the book opens, Elsie has just discovered that someone in the street knows about the background she has tried so hard to keep hidden. And then her neighbour is found dead, by Elsie. He was not her favourite – she publicly referred to him as her nemesis. He had a noisy dog and there were other inevitable dog-hygiene related disputes. So it is a little awkward that she is the one to find him. Even the police begin to show interest.
The reader gradually learns about Elsie/Mabel’s childhood. She was something of a misfit. Tall and ungainly, she was clever but not the kind of kid who would find making friends easy, and she was subjected to some nasty childhood cruelties. And her family life was far from happy. She was an only child, but somehow, accidents, tragedy and corpses seemed to follow her around, even when she was very young.
Eventually, in the present, as it becomes clear that her past is still with her and she begins to discover that she may have misjudged some of the people around her, she is persuaded to tell her story to a pair of journalists, and the reader is gradually told the whole – or most of the whole – tale. It is sad and very revealing and Hepworth makes the most of playing with the readers’ feelings. I must admit that I had worked out one of the final twists a long time before it became clear, but that did little to detract from the plot.
Mad Mabel is an easy, pacy read, but it does raise some significant issues, particularly those of prejudice, loneliness, violence and cruelty, and the unpleasant outcomes they can lead to. – Margaret von Klemperer
Mad Mabel is published by Macmillan: ISBN 978-1035096176
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