National Arts Festival

This morning’s Daily Maverick article titled “Gayton McKenzie Defunds the 2026 National Arts Festival” (7 November 2025) contained several factual inaccuracies and has subsequently been corrected – please see the revised story here https://tinyurl.com/ytpumyfh The National Arts Festival and other major arts festivals were not funded by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture in …

One year after its 50th milestone, the National Arts Festival reclaims its rebel roots with an energetic programme that channels the restlessness of the times and the promise of an invigorating cultural escape. Hosted in its home town of Makhanda in the Eastern Cape, between 26 June and 6 July, audiences can look forward to …

Drums rolled and choirs sang out as Makanda celebrated the opening of the 50th National Arts Festival on Friday 20 June 2024. A contagious sense of national and regional pride resounded from the dignitaries who attended the milestone Festival ceremony held in the very same auditorium where the Festival was first launched in 1974. National …

New stories and voices for the South African stage are essential if theatre is to reflect the hearts and minds of the country’s people. Founded in 2018, and managed by the National Arts Festival, the National Playwright Competition, in partnership with HEINEKEN Beverages, is playing a critical role in helping South African script writers from …

Now just one month away, the 2024 National Arts Festival will take its shape and texture from the artists who are in the midst of preparations to stage works from around the country. The Fringe programme is loaded with works that satirise, experiment and intrigue, marking the exceptional energy of our nation’s creatives. The Fringe …