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can thembalatest news & developments
New page: Damon Galgut’s novel ‘The Promise’, which won the Booker Prize in 2021, has been brought to life on stage by Sylvaine Strike. Photo: Claude Barnardo

Novel role for literature on stage

Compelling, popular theatre adaptations distil the very essence of written stories for audiences

Musical reimagining of Can Themba classic The Suit Concert-ized

Vusi Kunene, Khutjo Green and Brian Temba head up a powerhouse cast in this feminist take on the writer’s seminal Sophiatown-era short story

Siphiwo Mahala’s biography of legendary journalist and author Can Themba paints a harrowing image of a gifted genius who was driven to self-destruction by the evil system of racial segregation and prejudice. (Oupa Nkosi)

Mahala’s biography restores dignity denied Can Themba for decades

Can Themba: The Making and Breaking of the Intellectual Tsotsi’ depicts the brutality and racism faced by the legendary editor of ‘Drum’ magazine

Words: Among SA’s celebrated people is activist, academic and writer Charlotte Maxeke

OPINION| Black writers and publishers are South Africa’s ‘linguistic orphans’

The challenges we face in the world of scholarly and leisure reading and writing are not unique to our country but it is crucial to overcome them if we want to be as good as we…

Freestyle pantsula dancers in Soweto, Johannesburg, 2016. (Photo: Chris Saunders)

Why place matters in celebrating Jo’burg’s club history

The history of clubbing in Jo’burg is less about physical space and fading memories, but about the sheer, frightful necessity of dancing

Telling tales: Siphiwo Mahala’s world collided with that of Can Themba after Mahala presented a short story that people thought had been inspired by Themba’s play The Suit. Photo: Oupa Nkosi

​Discovering the world of Can Themba

Siphiwo Mahala talks about his fascination with the 1950s writer and journalist

Renewal: Lady Selborne is being rebuilt on the slopes of the Magaliesberg after people’s homes were bulldozed in the 1960s

A new Lady Selborne is rising from apartheid’s ashes

Its residents fought a bitter battle before the bulldozers moved in – and another long one to get their land back

Sophiatown style: On the 50th anniversary of Can Themba’s death his play The Suit is being performed at the Market Theatre.

Dusting off The Suit

Directed by James Ngcobo and starring a superb­ cast, ‘The Suit’ reinforces the quality and tradition of plays put on the Market Theatre stage

A love affair with Can Themba

A young playwright tells how the Sophiatown-era writer provided the inspiration for a new play.