NJABULOSEH BRINGS BRAND NU OLD SKOOL TO THE CENTRE FOR JAZZ

 

(Left: Njabuloseh)

 

The Centre for Jazz and Popular Music (CJPM) proudly presents accomplished South African singer, songwriter and recording artist Njabuloseh, who will bring his distinctive blend of South African jazz and Soul and to the Centre for Jazz and Popular Music on Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at 17h30.

 

The performance, titled Brand Nu Old Skool, promises an evening of soulful melodies, jazz-inspired musicianship and contemporary African sounds, as Njabuloseh presents a performance centred around his acclaimed 11-track album of the same name.

Released in 2020, Brand Nu Old Skool showcases Njabuloseh's distinctive musical voice and his ability to draw from the rich traditions of soul, jazz and contemporary African music. The album includes tracks such as Blindfolded Freedom, further reflecting his approach to blending soulful songwriting with sophisticated musical arrangements. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFnPovOZstU

Njabuloseh's contribution to South African music extends beyond his own recordings. As a songwriter, he has contributed to a number of projects by established artists, with writing credits including Maleh's Under My Skin, Swazi Dlamini's Vulinhliziyo, Brian Temba's Angeke and Intethelelo, RJ Benjamin's Dali Wami, and Maxhoba's Asambeni, among others.

His musical foundation was shaped through his studies in Jazz and Popular Music in KwaZulu-Natal (Natal Tech/DIT), where he developed his skills in composition, jazz vocal technique and improvisation. His musical influences span generations and genres, including artists such as D'Angelo, Rahsaan Patterson, Lucky Dube and Stevie Wonder.

For this special performance, Njabuloseh will be joined by a stellar band featuring Sphe Mngwengwe on piano, Thuto Motsemme on bass and Sbu Zondi on drums. Together, they will bring the material from Brand Nu Old Skool to life in an intimate live setting that celebrates musicianship, groove and the enduring spirit of South African jazz and soul.

 

Event Details

Njabuloseh — Brand Nu Old Skool

Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2026

Doors open: 17h00

Music starts: 17h30

Venue: Centre for Jazz and Popular Music, Dennis Shepstone Building, Level 2, Howard College Campus, UKZN Howard College

General admission: R130 (R100 Pensioners, R70 Students)

Tickets: Cash at the door

 

Getting there: Please use Gate 3 or Gate 8 off Rick Turner Road.

ISIDLAMLILO AT THE KZNSA GALLERY

 

(Right: Mpume Mthombeni. Pic by Val Adamson)

 

KZNSA Gallery, in partnership with Empatheatre, invites audiences to a thought-provoking public conversation on Isidlamlilo (The Fire Eater): The (Un)making of Zenzile Maseko.

Isidlamlilo is an electrifying, award-winning one-woman play that has been heralded as a contemporary South African theatre classic. Brought to life by acclaimed actor Mpume Mthombeni and theatre-maker Neil Coppen through Empatheatre, Isidlamlilo (The Fire Eater) is a profound and urgent piece of storytelling.

The production introduces us to Zenzile Maseko, a woman in her sixties living in a Durban women’s hostel. When the Department of Home Affairs mistakenly declares her dead and cannot reverse the error, Zenzile is cast into a Kafkaesque nightmare. To secure her survival, she is forced to reawaken the vengeful spirit of Impundulu (The Lightning Bird) — her former alias as one of the IFP’s most feared assassins during the build-up to the 1994 elections.

Inspired by the real-life oral histories of women living in Durban hostels, the performance weaves together myth, religious symbolism and traditional beliefs. It touches on political violence, the transition to democracy, inequality and the bureaucracy of government departments, while reminding us of what it means to refuse to be overcome.

A gallery representative said: “Having toured South Africa, with international stages in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany ahead, we are excited to bring the conversation around this significant production to KZNSA Gallery.

“Join us on October 17, 2026, at 10h30 as we unpack Isidlamlilo, it's making, and the histories and experiences that inform the work.”

 

Event Details

Venue: KZNSA Gallery, 166 Bulwer Road, Glenwood, Durban

Date: Saturday, October 17, 2026

Time: 10h30 - 12h00

Entry: Free

DUT THEATRE FESTIVAL: BACKSTAGE IN ACTION, 2026

October 8, 9, 13 and 16: Courtyard Theatre

Drama Backstage in Action Festival transforms the Courtyard Theatre at DUT into an active teaching, production and performance environment in which DUT Higher Certificate students work alongside experienced theatre practitioners in a series of productions from October 8 to 16, 2026.

The 2026 programme brings professional performance and education together through:

- The King of Broken Things, written by Michael Taylor-Broderick and performed by Cara Roberts, which is an adventurous and magical journey into the world of a young boy whose experiments, projects and creations reveal the possibilities hidden within things that have been broken and discarded.

-  Flatfoot Dance Company brings its powerful and moving dance-theatre work, History is a Home Address which is inspired by the writings of renowned South African poet, cultural activist and public intellectual Dr Mongane Wally Serote.

-  Dubious Gurus features wordsmith Iain ‘Ewok’ Robinson with Logan Byrne on upright bass (Landscape Prayers; Beat Route), Daniel Sheldon on horn and percussion (Beat Route), and Anton Cawthorn-Blazeby on violin (Landscape Prayers). Together they find a shared groove in a distinctive fusion of spoken-word, jazz and hip hop. Friday, October 16 at 15h30.

 

All performances are at the Courtyard Theatre / DUT Ritson Campus at DUT.

Tickets at the door prior to each performance.

For more information email: clarec1@dut.ac.za

30TH POETRY AFRICA & 5TH WORLD POETRY SLAM CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS 2026

 

(Poets from Kenya, New Zealand, Canada, Ghana & Switzerland)

 

Each performance was powerful, unique, and carried a weight and sincerity … (Review by Shannon Kenny)

Closing ceremony: 30th Poetry Africa and 5th World Poetry Slam Championship Finals 2026 - The Playhouse Drama Theatre - Friday October 9, 2026

The Centre for Creative Arts (CCA) at UKZN, is once again deserved of every commendation for hosting an international celebration of the word and the wordsmiths who challenge, exhort, hold up mirrors, offer fresh perspectives and give life to ideas that carry memory, speak truth and spark joy!

Fittingly, the speakers who introduced the evening’s proceedings spoke of the Poet’s place in society. Outgoing Director of the CCA, Ismail Mahomed, observed that poets and audiences throughout the festival were in agreement: "we need a better world and Artists play an important role in shaping that better world.”

Katrin Kirsch of the German Embassy - a Poetry Africa partner - shared that the art of poetry is a celebration of Cultural Heritage and Language - and how vital poetry is for the development of Language. Importantly, it is “what we use to understand the space between us.”

National Arts Council (another partner) member and poet, Zolani Mkiva spoke of poets as “Prophets of Possibilities.”

(Left: Lex LaFoy & Torsten Clear)

 

After Hammarsdale band, Khabza de Khabza, set the tone for the evening with a short set of their original music, Durban poets, Lex La Foy and Torsten Clear Rybka took to the stage to compere the culmination of the week’s slam contests: The World Poetry Slam Championship Final.

The top 10 poets representing their countries in the final were Satoshi Nakauchi (Japan); Soyo Vi Zibo (Ghana); Dennis Mwangi Gachie (Kenya); Karelys Gissette Rios Santana (Puerto Rico); Maya Bassude (Canada); Valerio Moser (Switzerland); Ariatne Sarai Ruiz de Chavez de los Santos (Mexico); Zewande Bhengu (South Africa); Some Sankar Louis Rodolphe (Burkina Faso); and Teirangi Klever (New Zealand).

Poems were variously poignant, hilarious and challenging – mining themes such as motherhood and family; gender and climate change; power and belonging; economic exploitation and racism; history and heritage; love and loss; grief and joy. The personal and the political were probed, stretched and rent apart; and reconstituted in words and worlds both real and surreal, with humour and pathos. Each performance was powerful, unique, and carried a weight and sincerity that touched and moved the audience to applaud with finger snaps, vocal cheers, claps and standing ovations. Subtitles to all the poems were projected on the large screen to accommodate the linguistically-diverse audience. 

Judges Xabiso Villi of South Africa, Ubah Cristina Farah of Italy and Nanda of Gabon had the mammoth task of whittling down the line-up of 10 to a penultimate 5 and finally the top 2 runners-up and a World Poetry Slam champion.

An interlude to allow for the judges’ deliberations meant we were treated to poetry from Zimbabwean duo, Sox the Poet and Starlight. Torsten Clear, Page Ngwenya and Khwezi (South Africa); Zipporah (USA).

The Drama Theatre at the Playhouse was alive with an audience of artists and supporters of the Arts, eager to shape a better world, celebrate our individual and shared cultures, bridge divides and speak to possibilities as yet not realised.

The shortlist of five included Dennis Mwangi Gachie of Kenya; Soyo Vi Zibo of Ghana; Maya Bassude of Canada; Valerio Moser of Switzerland and Teirangi Klever of New Zealand. 

(Right: Champion Valerio Moser)

Poems and poets were adjudicated for their delivery and for the quality of their poems. Competition was close (and yes, disclaimer, competition and I share a fractious relationship). Ultimately, the judges’ final decision had Maya Bassude of Canada and Dennis Mwangi Gachie of Kenya in third and second place, respectively. Valerio Moser of Switzerland took the 2026 Championship.

Significantly, Dr Philip Meersman, Belgian poet and scholar, and president of the World Poetry Slam Organization was given a special mention for his consistent championing, support and mentorship through successive editions of the World Poetry Slam Championship across the globe.

Sphindile Hlongwa handed over the curator’s baton – in the form of a handmade woven basket – to poet and curator, Yuri Miki who will be hosting the 2027 World Poetry Slam in Japan. (Solly Ramatswi will represent South Africa at the World Poetry Slam Championship in Japan in 2027.) There was a beautiful moment when Yuri asked to rather speak in Japanese because her English was faltering. There was a resounding YES from the audience – and while we did not understand every word, there was a depth of feeling that went beyond words.

 

(Left: Yuri Miki)

The irony of the evening was not lost on any of us, either. We were ensconced in a theatre with people from around the globe – from six continents – who were in agreement that we were better for the fact that we were together, in community, bringing our diverse experience; exchanging and engaging with the highs and lows of our shared Humanity; listening, including, wrestling with the difficult and awkward with empathy and a desire to know, understand, push boundaries and grow.

While outside on Anton Lembede Street, the protests across the CBD and eThekwini Metro – both peaceful and violent – spoke to an entirely different set of wills and desires.

And still, hope was alive in that theatre. In my conversations with poets from South Africa and abroad, as we broke bread and drank wine (and Stoney and water), there was an even greater sense of urgency to be in the words of one of the speakers on opening night, “soldiers who shoot through words.” We would change society by speaking truth to pain and to power and ultimately transform what was happening outside from the inside – by touching hearts and minds, showing a better way.

Poetry Africa and The Playhouse security staff handled the situation with aplomb and we were able to leave the theatre in safety, with joy and hope in our hearts.

When I asked a poet from West Africa how they felt the day after Poetry Africa, they shared that friends and colleagues in their home country had expressed reservations about their journey here. This poet had been part of the slam championship, is a writer, a teacher, a scholar and had conducted workshops with school children and other young poets here in eThekwini Metro. They then explained how eager they were to go back home and report that while some of their apprehensions were founded, that they could speak to an experience of South Africa that was welcoming, embracing and enriching – and that they were inspired and eager to return.

 

(Left: Sphindile Hlongwa)

Kudos to Festival Curator, Sphindile Hlongwa, and her team who deserve their flowers – big, gorgeous bouquets! 

Thank-you to the participating poets, musicians, facilitators, administrators, cleaning staff, caterers, security personnel, partner organisations, hotels and audiences for growing and enriching our corner of the world. – Shannon Kenny

KWAMASHU SCHOOL OF DANCE THEATRE PRESENTS THEATRE WEEK 2026

 

(Vusi Makanya is the founder and Artistic Director of the KwaMashu School of Dance Theatre (KMSDT) in Durban, KZN)

 

Celebrating 22 Years of KMSDT's Artistic Legacy. • Community • Dance • Young Talent • Conversation

 

This October, KwaMashu School of Dance Theatre (KMSDT) invites schools, families, artists, businesses, community organisations and members of the public to experience THEATRE WEEK 2026 — a celebration of young people, community, creativity and the powerful role of the arts in shaping the future.

Taking place from October 19–24, 2026, Theatre Week brings together young dancers and emerging artists from Inanda, Ntuzuma, KwaMashu, Newlands and Quarry Heights, alongside KMSDT alumni, outreach groups Kasi Style and IJalamba Performing Arts Academy, professional artists, educators and community partners.

Inspired by the legacy of youth uprising in South Africa, this year's programme celebrates the power of young people to use creativity, culture, movement and collective action to express their experiences and imagine a better future.

Under the banner of 50 Years of Youth Uprising, Theatre Week connects the history of youth activism with today's generation of young artists, recognising their creativity, resilience, leadership and potential to contribute to stronger communities.

 

A WEEK WHERE YOUNG PEOPLE TAKE THE STAGE

For more than two decades, KMSDT has provided children and young people with opportunities to discover dance, build confidence, develop discipline and experience the arts as a pathway to personal growth and community development.

Founded in 2004, KMSDT continues to nurture young talent through dance education, performance, artistic exchange, school outreach and community engagement.

Theatre Week 2026 continues this 22-year artistic legacy.

The six-day programme combines creative development, school workshops and performances, professional dance training, inclusive community dialogue and a public closing celebration. Young people will have opportunities not only to perform, but also to learn from experienced practitioners, collaborate with their peers and be recognised for their artistic growth.

 

THEATRE WEEK 2026: OFFICIAL PROGRAMME

 

Monday, October 19

Creative Development and Facilitators’ Planning Day

Venue: KMSDT Studio, KwaMashu Central Station

Time: 10h00 – 12h00

Participants: KMSDT management, facilitators and participating artists

 

Tuesday, October 20

Dance Workshop and Artistic Exchange

Venue: Steel Gym, KwaMashu

Time: 10h00 –12h00

Participants: Dancers and facilitators

 

Wednesday, October 21

School Workshop and Performance — Inanda Seminary

Venue: ISSA Hall, Inanda Seminary

Workshop: 12h00

Performance: 17h00

Audience: Inanda Seminary learners and invited school representatives

 

Thursday, October 22

LET’S TALK INCLUSION: Dance For Every Body

Venue: Ezandawonye Disability Empowerment Organisation / Old Age Home

Format: Community dialogue

Attendance: By invitation

LET’S TALK INCLUSION is a conversation about access, dignity, belonging and the possibilities of dance for all.

 

Friday, October 23

School Performance — Quarry Heights Primary School

Performance: 13h00

Performance venue: Quarry Heights Primary School

Audience: Learners, teachers and the school community

The visit also reinforces KMSDT's ongoing commitment to school-based arts education and youth development.

 

Saturday, October 24

THEATRE WEEK 2026 — PUBLIC GRAND FINALE

Venue: Steel Gym, KwaMashu

Programme starts: 14h00

Grand Finale performance: 14h00

Admission: R50

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Come and experience KwaMashu's young talent on stage — live, up close and in their own community.

 

WHY SCHOOLS SHOULD BE PART OF THE KMSDT JOURNEY

KMSDT believes that arts education is an important part of developing confidence, discipline, creativity, communication and leadership in young people. Theatre Week offers learners an opportunity to:

•           Experience dance and theatre through live performances and workshops.

•           See young people from their own communities represented on stage.

•           Learn from experienced dancers, artists and choreographers.

•           Develop confidence through creative participation and performance.

•           Connect with other schools, young artists and community organisations.

•           Discover pathways into dance, theatre and the wider creative economy.

•           Celebrate South African heritage, youth creativity and community through the arts.

 

Schools interested in future KMSDT programmes, workshops, outreach initiatives or partnerships are encouraged to connect with the organisation.

 

WHY THE PUBLIC SHOULD COME

         Come to support the next generation of Durban artists.

         Come to see what young people can achieve when they are given opportunities, guidance and a stage.

         Come to celebrate the legacy of youth uprising and the continuing power of young voices, creativity and community.

         Come to take part in a conversation about inclusion and the role of dance in making our communities more connected.

         Most importantly, come and support KMSDT's 22-year artistic legacy and the young artists carrying it forward.

 

ADMISSION AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT

School performances: School-based and invitation arrangements apply.

Grand Finale — Saturday, October 24: R50 community admission.

KMSDT welcomes community support to help cover the practical costs of providing meaningful artistic opportunities for young people, particularly transport, meals, costumes and performance resources.

 

SPONSOR A YOUNG ARTIST

Every contribution can help remove a barrier to participation.

•           R50 — Contribute towards transport.

•           R100 — Contribute towards a meal.

•           R200 — Contribute towards costume needs.

•           R500 — Contribute towards the combined support needs of a young artist.

These are suggested contribution levels towards project costs, not guaranteed individual cost allocations. Every donation helps KMSDT work towards ensuring that young artists can participate, perform and be recognised.

 

Businesses, alumni, parents and organisations can also support Theatre Week through in-kind contributions, including transport, food, costumes, technical equipment, venue support, printing, photography, videography and professional services.

KMSDT welcomes partnerships that invest in young people, community arts and the future of South Africa's creative economy.

 

COME MOVE WITH US

Theatre Week 2026 is not simply about watching a performance.

         It is about creating opportunities.

         It is about giving young people a voice.

         It is about building confidence through creativity.

         It is about making dance more inclusive and bringing schools and communities together.

         It is about recognising the power of young people to shape their own futures.

         And it is about ensuring that the next generation of dancers, actors, educators and creative leaders has somewhere to begin.

 

KMSDT THEATRE WEEK 2026

October 19 to 24, 2026

Come. Watch. Learn. Support. Celebrate.

 

MEDIA, SCHOOL AND PUBLIC ENQUIRIES

KwaMashu School of Dance Theatre (KMSDT)

NPO Registration No.: 079-289

PBO No.: 9079657194

Telephone: 067 864 2283

Email: vusi.kmsdt@gmail.com

Facebook: KwaMashu School of Dance Theatre

TWOSDAY: JAZZ AND POETRY OFFERING

 

(Left: Thandiwe Nqanda)

 

The Centre for Jazz and Popular Music (CJPM) presents Twosday: Jazz and Poetry Offering, featuring award-winning South African performance poet and author Thandiwe Nqanda, on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, at 17h30.

 

Nqanda brings her distinctive fusion of poetry, jazz and live storytelling to the stage in an immersive performance exploring memory, loss, love, healing and spiritual reflection. Rooted in personal and collective remembrance, her work gives voice to experiences that are often left unspoken, creating space for audiences to reflect, remember and connect.

The performance forms part of CJPM’s Twosday series, a platform that encourages artistic exchange and collaboration across disciplines. By blending musical styles and disciplines - in this case, poetry and jazz - Twosday encourages cross-genre collaboration and creates innovative performances that push the boundaries of the traditional concert experience.

Nqanda is the author of the debut poetry collection No, Time To Mourn (2023). Her work has featured at major literary and arts platforms including the Open Book Festival, National Arts Festival and Poetry Africa, while her poem the mourners was published in New Contrast in 2024. She also co-wrote the theatrical production Grieve, That Is How You Survive, which premiered at the National Arts Festival in 2023.

Her engagement with jazz includes the musical poetry show IT IS TIME and collaborations with jazz musicians including Kujenga, Vuyo Viwe and the Guftahs.

For this Durban performance, Nqanda will be joined by Makgashule Thothela on piano, Zolile Mgqantsa on bass and Bayanda Msomi on drums, with Thando Fuze appearing as guest poet.

Fuze is a Durban-born poet, performer, writer, curator and cultural activist whose work explores identity, gender, sexuality and contemporary social experience. She is also the founder of SHEfted Minds, a platform supporting and amplifying women artists and creative voices.

Together, the artists will create an intimate evening where poetry and jazz meet in a shared space of rhythm, memory and reflection.

 

EVENT DETAILS

Twosday: Jazz and Poetry Offering by Thandiwe Nqanda

Date: Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Doors: 17h00

Music starts: 17h30

Venue: Centre for Jazz and Popular Music, Dennis Shepstone Building, Level 2, Howard College Campus, UKZN

 

Tickets: R130 (R100 pensioners, R70 students)

Cash at the door or via Webtickets https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/event.aspx?itemid=1599391395

 

Getting there: Please use Gate 3 or Gate 8 off Rick Turner Road.

SOLLY "SOETRY" RAMATSWI CROWNED SOUTH AFRICA'S SLAM CHAMPION

 

(Left: Solly "Soetry" Ramatswi)

 

Limpopo poet Solly "Soetry" Ramatswi crowned South Africa's Slam Champion with Born Free.

Solly Ramatswi, the Limpopo-born poet known as Soetry, has been crowned winner of the Poetry Africa National Slam Jam. He won the final at the Durban Playhouse on Tuesday night with Born Free, an interrogation of freedom, protest and memory three decades into democracy. 

Glen Mokoena was runner-up, and Tsholang Bodibe placed third.

Ramatswi takes home R20,000 and will represent South Africa at the World Poetry Slam Championship in Japan in 2027, carrying the national title onto the international stage.

Ramatswi said: “I am a testimony of what community is. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for a lot of people. I may have walked to the stage alone BUT I wouldn’t have made it without a lot of my loved ones. Oh, it feels so fulfilling to love and be loved for doing what you love. I will continue dreaming. I will grow.”

In Born Free, Ramatswi turns the language of the struggle (the chant of "Amandla!", the raised fist, the voting queue) into a reckoning with what freedom has delivered to the generation born after 1994. The poem closes on its central tension:

 

She voted,

I slam.

My trophies are tombstones for all the obituaries I've written as poems.

I open my notebook and find my country's faults.

I open my mouth and slam.

 

Ian Gwag, board member of the World Poetry Slam Organisation and a member of the Slam Jam jury said: "The Slam Jam was a reminder that, beneath the dance of words, poetry remains a conversation between people trying to make sense of the world through their own truths – turning our different realities into something profoundly shared."

Raised in the village of Pollen, Ramatswi writes about black boyhood and masculinity. He is a former Word N Sound Poetry League champion and the founder of Soetry Media and Project Translation, which pioneered the "Sign-In" Slam, combining performance poetry with South African Sign Language.

His win closes the national leg of Poetry Africa's 30th edition. The festival now turns to the 5th World Poetry Slam Championship, which brings 40 poets from 40 countries to Durban and runs until the final on October 9. The week also includes a staged production of Putuma’s Water on October 9.

The full programme can be found on poetryafrica.ukzn.ac.za. Tickets are available on 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.

Released by iSupport Creative Business

For more information contact info@isupportdoyou.com or 079 707 7773 or 083 337 2518

 

To link to the Centre for Creative Arts website, click on the advert logo to the right of this article.

 

 

MULTICHOICE PUTS THE SA CREATIVE INDUSTRY FIRST AT DURBAN FILMMART

 

(Left: Willington Ngwepe)

 

With a long history as a major investor in local storytelling, MultiChoice is heading to the 17th Durban FilmMart (October 9 to 12) to build new partnerships that will help turn South African filmmakers’ abundant supply of creative ideas into viable productions and grow businesses, careers and protect intellectual property.

The global production industry is facing sustained headwinds – and the South African creative industry is not immune to those.

 

Willington Ngwepe, MultiChoice (Pty) Ltd CEO, says:  “A sustainable local content industry requires both investment and an enabling ecosystem in which producers can build businesses, women can progress into leadership, and where emerging professionals can access mentorship and opportunity. As the custodians of DStv’s content in South Africa, we understand the challenges that creators are facing while constantly listening to our customers to understand what they want to see on their screens – and we want to bring the supply and demand sides closer together with the right funding, training and support to continue to grow the industry we’ve invested in for over three decades”.

Durban FilmMart has a long history of connecting filmmakers and producers with finance, co-production opportunities, industry expertise, international market opportunities and potential partners. Ideas and intellectual property must also be protected, and working with Partners Against Piracy MultiChoice is leading public awareness campaigns to educate consumers about the risk and damage of consuming pirated content, engaging with government authorities to put in place stricter regulation and legislation to protect intellectual content in the digital age, and supporting law enforcement agencies to prosecute pirates in South Africa and beyond the country’s borders.

Willington Ngwepe adds: “Our participation at Durban FilmMart creates opportunities for direct engagement with independent producers, creators, policymakers, distributors, and other industry partners to help build, safeguard and promote our industry.”

 

(Right: Magdalene Reddy)

Magdalene Reddy, Director of the DFM, says: “Having a partner of MultiChoice's stature alongside us is a significant milestone for the Durban FilmMart. MultiChoice has a long-standing commitment to African storytelling, and their involvement strengthens our mission to connect filmmakers with the financing and partnerships they need. For filmmakers, this kind of access is invaluable. It means projects will engage with decision-makers who can help move them from concept to screen.”

MultiChoice representatives will be leading and participating in a series of discussions and events. On October 9, MultiChoice Head of Content Renee Jacobs and key content supplier CANAL+ Africa’s Head of Scripted Content Tebogo Matlawa will headline the discussion topic Support and Funding of Local Content in SA.

Durban FilmMart, in association with MultiChoice, runs from October 9 to 12 at the Southern Sun Elangeni and Maharani on the Durban beachfront. Visit www.durbanfilmmart.co.za for more information.

DAMSEL IN DISTRESS: REVIEW

 

(Right: Kiruna-Lind Devar)

 

You would be doing yourself a disservice if Damsel In Distress has performance dates in your area and you miss it, for whatever reason. (artSMart reviewer)

 

There’s one good thing about reaching the biblical age of three score and ten – one has so many memories sitting in hidden recesses of the brain, waiting to be dredged up from our earlier days. Fortunately, I spent my life in the entertainment and arts spheres and was privileged to view and/or be part of many productions in Durban in the “good old days”.

One of the most abiding memories is the stellar performance of a young Brenda Radloff in her ingenue years as Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Playhouse Theatre. Her rendition of Everything’s All Right and I Don’t Know How to Love Him were so heartfelt that they truly numbed the mind.

But now it’s the turn of Brenda’s first-born, Kiruna-Lind Devar, to shine in the spotlight in her first one-woman show Damsel In Distress, which premiered recently at Durban’s Rhumbelow Theatre before heading for venues around the country, and boy, does she shine!

Damsel was created by Wela Kapela Productions with a thought-provoking script by Amanda Bothma and inspired direction by the uber-talented Daniel Anderson, who arrived on the Durban cabaret scene with his outstanding shows Vincent and Mad About the Boys some while back.

But back to Kiruna-Lind as Griselda in Damsel in Distress. The character is a librarian who has lived her life vicariously by hiding herself in the books surrounding her in her library, and indeed, hiding herself there, using it as a refuge: a place to live and sleep, trapped in fear of the overwhelming outside world. That is, until the ever-so-charming Edward Pamment arrives on the scene, challenging her belief system.

The 75-minute show explores several themes including courage, survival and even gender-based violence. Kiruna-Lind (ably accompanied by Samantha Riedel on the keyboard) invites us along on an amazing journey, featuring a variety of songs which highlight her vocal dexterity, songs such as I Love Paris, People, Mein Herr, New York New York, La Vie en Rose, Windmills of Your Mind, and even a hysterical Brush Up Your Shakespeare.

You would be doing yourself a disservice if Damsel In Distress has performance dates in your area and you miss it, for whatever reason. Get a bunch of friends together and support the finest in local theatre.

Congratulations, Kiruna-Lind, Amanda, Daniel and Wela Kapela. Here’s to many more stunning productions! Book now.

30TH POETRY AFRICA FESTIVAL & WORLD POETRY SLAM CHAMPIONSHIP OPENING CEREMONY: REVIEW

 

(Left to right: Ms Linda Bukhosini; Ms Sphindile Hlongwa; MEC Khawula; Dr Gcina Mhlope; Dr Ismail Mahomed; Professor Hlongwa. Picture credit: Poetry Africa/Centre for Creative Arts UKZN)

 

That the 30th edition of Poetry Africa, along with the 5th World Poetry Slam Championship is ‘a thing’ is itself a triumph. (Review by Shannon Kenny)

The 30th Poetry Africa Festival & World Poetry Slam Championship (October 5-9, 2026):

Opening Ceremony - The Drama Theatre - The Playhouse Company Durban

 

That the 30th edition of Poetry Africa, along with the 5th World Poetry Slam Championship is ‘a thing’ is itself a triumph. It is a triumph for Art and Art-makers in South Africa and abroad, who keep on keeping on, through the winds and hurricanes of national and global change. This year’s theme is, fittingly: Every Word a Street, Every Voice a City.

The audience was welcomed by Dr Ismail Mahomed, Director of the Centre for Creative Arts (CCA), UKZN, and led in a rendition of the South African national anthem by Thulile Zama, of the UKZN Centre for Jazz and Popular Music. There is something about our anthem, whether sung in a rugby stadium, school hall or gala event – that stirs and uplifts and unites us in its appeal for divine blessing and its exhortation to strive for a freedom that is the right of us all.

Celebrated artists, poet, and our host for the evening, Lebo Mashile and dancer-choreographer Musa Hlatshwayo took to the stage in a confluence of words and movement that was also a clarion call to action, to the urgency for our times: “These are the hours to reach for what's worth rising for” was a particularly memorable line.

KZN MEC for Sport, Arts and Culture, Mr Mntomuhle Khawula; Creative Director and CEO of The Playhouse Company, Linda Bukhosini; and Dean and Head of the UKZN School of Arts, Professor Nobuhle Hlongwa delivered messages that not only acknowledged the importance of the Arts but also the important work of the Centre for Creative Arts under its past and current leadership. Most notable was the audience response – an audible, collective gasp – at the announcement of Dr Ismail Mahomed’s retirement at the end of this year. Ismail Mahomed is not only an arts administrator par excellence. His sincere and tireless advocacy and activism and most of all his empathy for artists - and genuine desire to see artists live and thrive in their vocation - is an immeasurable gift.

Poetry Africa curator and senior administrator at the CCA Sphindile Hlongwa, and Ms Mashile both spoke to the work of the poet and their place in society, as they introduced the evening’s line-up.

Zawadi Yamungu thrilled and delighted with her lyrical artistry and endearing stage presence, topping the evening’s performance with a superb rendition of her hit song, Ngimuhle.

South African, Steel the Poet (Nhlakanipho Thabethe) delivered a masterful performance of three of his poems, infusing each with an urgency where one couldn’t help but feel all the feels.

Nanda (Naelle Sandra) of Gabon brought lyricism and a celebration of our individuality and uniqueness through “Imagine” and then, her call to join her in a liturgy in praise of love/ intonda/amour.

Featured poet, Koleka Putuma, delivered a keynote address that placed Voice front and centre. Her observation that a voice that is encouraged to always speak up and be heard is different to the voice that is told to know its place struck a particular chord with the audience.

And finally, Lifetime Achievement awardee, poet, playwright, actor, director, arts activist, author and storyteller, Dr Gcina Mhlope took to the stage. In her inimitable manner she payed homage to the way makers who’ve left us and simultaneously delivered a call to action, to resist “forgetery” and “shoot the arrows of self-love to our children’s children.”

With 38 delegates from 38 countries competing in the 5th World Poetry Slam; a host of panel discussions, performances, mentoring sessions and contests over the course of the festival, Poetry Africa is truly a celebration of Voice and Memory, of Poets and Freedom Fighters, of what has been and is and is to come; of Language and Lyricism; and all of our gorgeous and flawed Humanity!

A massive high five to the teams from the Centre for Creative Arts, UKZN, their funders, partners and every participating poet and panellist at Poetry Africa 2026, for what can only be described as a feast of the spoken word.

Venues: The Loft, Room M1 and Drama Theatre at the Playhouse complex. Open Mic sessions take place at the Belaire Suites Hotel. 

Ticket bookings via Webtickets

Halala! Durban, you are in for a treat! – Shannon Kenny

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

 

CITY OF WIDOWS: REVIEW

 

It is in the construction of the plot that the novel encounters problems. (Review by Margaret von Klemperer, Courtesy of The Witness)

 

Nadia Hashimi’s parents emigrated from Afghanistan to the United States where she grew up and later worked as a paediatrician before turning her hand to writing. Afghanistan, and particularly the plight of women in that tragic country, is her subject of choice, with several novels to her name dealing with the rollercoaster experience of the Soviet invasion, Taliban rule, American-backed government and, following the ignominious departure of the Americans, the Taliban again.

Back in 2016, her novel, A House Without Windows, had a launch in Pietermaritzburg and her books have always attracted a big readership.

Here the main character is Marjan and in 2021, she is desperately trying to leave the country because, as we gradually discover, she has served with the Female Tactical Platoon (FTP), a trained military unit of Afghan women who served with the American army as a group who could speak to Afghan women – something male soldiers could not do. Unlike their female American counterparts, members of the FTP spoke the local language. But, as we know, in the US forces’ undignified withdrawal, many people who were going to be at risk simply could not escape, even though the Americans claimed to be trying to help them.

Marjan has a young daughter, Hawa, and a great friend, Soraya who served in the FTP with her. And Soraya has an aunt, Mina, who is a journalist and an anchor on a TV news show – all of them obviously at risk from the advancing Taliban whose attitude to women is well documented. But to escape is never going to be easy.

Hashimi divides the novel into sections. The main thrust of the plot concerns 2021, when the women are struggling to find a way of leaving the country. The title, which Hashimi explains in the author’s note at the end of the book, is where Marjan and Hawa end up hiding while they try to work out how to escape to a different life. But there is also a lot of backstory, mainly concerning Marjan but also explaining her connection with Soraya and Mina.

It is in the construction of the plot that the novel encounters problems. The reader has to go backwards and forwards, from Marjan’s horrible experiences as a child bride, to her escape from an abusive husband, to the reasons that she and Soraya joined the FTP, and to Mina’s career as a journalist. Hashimi seems to feel the need to end each section or chapter on a cliffhanger, and then leave the reader dangling while she goes backwards or forwards to re-connect with wherever she left her characters before.

This becomes an irritant. It interrupts the flow of the story and, to a degree, causes the reader to lose interest. It is a pity, because Hashimi is highlighting the plight of the people of Afghanistan and tackling some very real problems. – Margaret von Klemperer

City of Widows is published by William Morrow: ISBN 978-0-06-349363-6

BANDS UNDER THE STARS CONCERT

 

Come, join up for the highly-anticipated, picnic-style, Bands Under the Stars Concert on Friday, October 16, 2026, in Pietermaritzburg.

This free concert will showcase the talents of the St Charles College Junior School and High School Bands, bringing the 2026 Bands season to a memorable close. Gather your family and friends, pack a picnic, blankets, and chairs, and enjoy an evening of music under the night sky.

 

Date: Friday, October 16, 2026

Venue: Grass area below the SP Quad

Time: 18h00-19h30

Entrance free

Bring your picnic, blankets, and chairs

 

The St Charles College Music Department. The College is located at Harwin Road, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg.