The 31st edition of the Market Theatre Foundation’s Zwakala Festival is upon us, and audiences can prepare themselves for raw and authentic stories told by emerging community-based theatre-makers from 18 – 20 October 2024 at the Market Theatre Laboratory. The Festival is sponsored by the Department of Sports Arts and Culture Incubation Programme, an initiative aimed at enabling up-and-coming practitioners to sharpen and professionalise their craft through mentorship.

The Festival follows a call for applications issued to theatre groups within the City of Johannesburg. After a rigorous selection process from tons of proposals, the shortlisted productions undergo intensive mentorship programme under the guidance of esteemed Festival Director, Ntambo Rapatla, to refine their productions in preparation for the festival showcase, where they will get to perform their work and receive industry-expert feedback from adjudicators, Tshepo Ratona, MoMo Matsunyane, Shoki Mmola and Renos Nicos Spanoudes.

This year’s Top 4 productions are Fatherhood by Mike M Dzova, Mollo by Tebogo Serapelo, Pieces of a Woman by Molebatsi Motshiliba and Jack Mabokachaba’s Kgetsi. These plays demonstrated potential for artistic development, growth, originality and sustainability, among others. They will go head-to-head for the golden prize of having a season at the Market Theatre’s Barney Simon stage.

In Fatherhood, we follow the heart-wrenching story of four young boys, each raised by a single mother, struggling to comprehend the void left by their absent fathers. As they navigate the challenges of growing up in broken homes, they grapple with emotional turmoil and distorted views of masculinity. Conflict rages again in Mollo, a play about a young soccer player who has to balance his ancestral heritage with his stardom, while navigating spiritual forces and ancient customs.

Furthermore, women’s ability to rise above multiple adversities finds expression in Pieces of a Woman, which promises to be a powerful exploration of one woman’s unyielding strength as she undertakes a journey of love, loss and resilience. Similarly, Kgetsi is a poignant drama that follows the interconnected lives of four women, each grappling with the lasting impacts of childhood trauma: shattered self-identity and unrelenting emotional scars.

Festival Director, Ntambo Rapatla, said: “For the past three decades, the spirit of Zwakala Festival has been that of unearthing untold narratives and equipping community-based theatre-makers with professional, technical and artistic support to thrive on bigger stages. This year, as we dive into another decade, we’re building on the Festival’s legacy of providing a platform for new voices, inspiring social change through theatre and building a vibrant community of artists and audiences.”