Countdown to Mzansi's epic arts celebration: National Arts Festival 2025

Road will be performed at the 2025 National Arts Festival. Picture: Supplied

The countdown has begun for South Africa’s most iconic celebration of the arts. Set to take place in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, from 26 June to 6 July 2025, the National Arts Festival (NAF) is poised to once again transform this historical town into a buzzing hub of artistic expression, collective resistance, and cultural reflection.

With the full programme unveiled and tickets now available at www.nationalartsfestival.co.za, this year’s Festival promises eleven electrifying days packed with bold performances, innovative premieres, and a cultural atmosphere unlike any other.

The NAF remains South Africa’s longest-running arts festival, and just one year after celebrating its golden jubilee, returns with renewed energy, rebellious spirit, and creative urgency.

This year’s Curated Programme is a blend of bold theatrical innovation with deep introspection, offering a powerful lineup of performances that mirror both the cracks and glimmers of hope in our rapidly changing world.

NAF artistic director Rucera Seethal reflected on the evolution of this year’s programme.

“The global landscape is entirely unpredictable; trends emerge and collapse, institutions quiver, shocks reverberate and radical new ideas rumble below a tense surface,” Seethal said.

“The Festival is a fluid container for these conversations. Unhinged from the daily grind, artists first see and then weave, through words, art, body or expression - that which we are too busy to truly notice. At the Festival, we enter this world of the artist, leaving the everyday for the unexpected.”

Theatre highlights include Kompoun, a stage adaptation of Ronelda Kamfer’s novel directed by Lee-Ann van Rooi, supported by the Festival’s Enterprise Catalyst Project, alongside Nadia Davids’ Bridling - a dark, visceral adaptation directed by Jay Pather, starring Buhle Ngaba and Shaun Oelf.

A scene from Kompound. Picture: Gous Loubser

International work takes centre stage with UK-based action hero’s The Talent, an experimental meditation on the legacy of the human voice in a post-human future. South African theatre stalwart Rehane Abrahams returns to directing with The Fugue of Tjebolang, a mystic and sensual journey through identity and spirituality.

The legendary Athol Fugard’s legacy will be celebrated through powerful stagings of The Island and Sizwe Banzi Is Dead—co-written with John Kani and Winston Ntshona—brought to life by Gqeberha-based director Xabiso Zweni.

In the world of dance, this year’s programme is nothing short of spectacular. From Cape Ballet Africa’s triple bill SALT featuring works by Kirsten Isenberg, Mthuthuzeli November, and Michelle Reid, to a historic staging of George Balanchine’s Allegro Brilliante by Diana White, dance becomes the pulse of protest and poetic memory.

Oscar Buthelezi and Muzi Shili’s acclaimed duet Road returns, a poignant meditation on solidarity and survival, while Vusimuzi Mdoyi and Phala Ookeditse Phala’s Izithukuthuku uses isiPantsula, typewriters, and industrial rhythms to channel the migrant experience.

International acts include Magic Maids by Eisa Jocson and Venuri Perera, blending ritual, resistance, and the haunting legacy of domestic labour.

Meanwhile, Die Een Wat Bly, featuring Grant van Ster, Shaun Oelf, and Daneel van der Walt, crosses dance, theatre, and text to examine mother-son relationships and generational healing.

This year’s music programme celebrates both the traditional and the transformative. Beloved acapella group The Soil will lift spirits with their harmonic energy, while Anelisa “Annalyzer” Stuurman offers Izwi Lami (My Voice), a ritualistic performance inspired by the Xhosa lunar calendar.

The Wits Trio commemorates 15 years together with a programme of rebellious classical music, and Makhanda’s International Library of African Music presents rare vinyl DJ sets highlighting vintage township jazz and folk traditions.

The ever-popular Fringe Programme offers audiences everything from side-splitting comedy to experimental theatre. Ovation-winning acts like Khanyisa Jam Jam (Sorry for the Weight), Stuart Taylor, and Yaseen Barnes return alongside the always-outrageous Conrad Koch and Chester Missing.

Highlights include Makhaola Ndebele’s Cantos of a Life in Exile and Mongezi Ntukwana’s Yangthola!, a powerful tragic-comedy chronicling the resilience of the homeless.

Cantos of a Life in Exile. Picture: Supplied

ASSITEJ South Africa will host a hub of family theatre, and university showcases from institutions like Rhodes, UCT, WSU, and TUT promise to introduce the next generation of theatre-makers.

The Village Green remains a must-visit hub of crafts, food, and free family entertainment. In partnership with The Playhouse Company and the Mandela Bay Theatre Complex, a pop-up stage truck will host daily shows.

The Eastern Cape Literature Festival (Litfest) gets a dynamic makeover, with a heavyweight line-up including John Kani, Jerry Mafokeng, Khaya Dlanga, Sihle-isipho Nontshokweni-Bikilsho, and Nozibele Qamngana-Mayaba. The Festival’s Art Talks series will also return, dissecting contemporary issues through an artistic lens.

This year’s Standard Bank Young Artists—Asanda Ruda (Dance), Siya Charles (Jazz), Calvin Ratladi (Theatre), Muneyi (Music), Nyakallo Maleke (Visual Art), and Modise Sekgothe (Poetry)—are set to debut their exciting new works at the National Arts Festival.

The National Arts Festival will take place from June 26 to July 6 in Makhanda, Eastern Cape. Tickets are now available for purchase at www.nationalartsfestival.co.za.