Artists and audiences are building up to the 49th National Arts Festival taking place in Makhanda from 22 June to 2 July 2023. The emerging program is a multi-genre feast, representing a broad spectrum of South African arts with plenty of comedy works set to put you in a good mood.
This year established and emerging comedians form a line-up that includes Mojak Lehoko, Stuart Taylor, Chester Missing, Khanyisa Bunu, Kate Pinchuck, and Tseliso Masolane. Tsepiso Nzayo brings his first one-man show to NAF; Single and Sober is a story told in a mix of isiXhosa and English, that follows his journey through quitting alcohol. Three of Cape Town's bright new lights on the stand-up comedy scene bring One of Each to NAF. Catch Thulasizwe Sithole, Callum Hitchcock (who debuted at NAF in 2022 with his one-man show, We Can Come Back From This to positive reviews), and Zach Esau, a talented, young actor, and comedian.
NAF favorites MacBob Productions from KwaZulu-Natal, return to the Fringe with a clutch of works including A Vegan Killed My Marriage, Bulletproof and Go Big! They are joined on the Fringe by a raft of works from musical drama producers Wela Kepela, who will present The Story of Eva Cassidy, Amy Winehouse: The Diva and her Demons, NEXT!!, Mad About the Boys, Damsel in Distress, Julie Andrews - Uncut, and Elton Adams.
Another well-known face at the Festival, Rob van Vuuren, brings the ‘healing vibes’ with his satirical kombucha-swigging character gone viral Namaste Bae and last year’s Fringe sensation Whistleblowers is back after traveling nationally and to the Netherlands.
The Festival program provides South African artists from across the country with the increasingly rare opportunity to stage new, experimental or reinvented works and also includes works from the African continent and elsewhere in the world.
Find the full program on their Twitter feed below :
From Gregory Maqoma the Jazzart 50th Celebration, brand new works from the Standard Bank Young Artists and much more. Take a first peek at the 2023 programmehttps://t.co/qZVsz2RyWZ and savour the possibilities before bookings open on 1 May 2023.#ItWillChangeYou #NAF2023 pic.twitter.com/2uyGIl3VsX
— NationalArtsFestival (@artsfestival) April 12, 2023
