Background: Youth with disabilities are a marginalised group in society. This marginalisation traps them and prevents their full participation in social and economic development. Objective: This study sought to understand how exposure to the Performing Arts facilitates the inclusion of youth with...

There has been a remarkable rise in the number of Afrikaans arts festivals in South Africa. The outcomes of such festivals, however, remain little understood, particularly concerning the arts festivals' contribution to the arts. The aim of this study is to determine the contribution of three...

This issue contains 5 articles, 2 interviews, and 10 book reviews on Southern African theatre. The first two articles deal with Angolan theatre and reveal different kinds of theatre, mainstream and community-based, to anglophone readers unfamiliar with lusophone African theatre. The third article...

When state support for the arts drained away after 1994, theatre in South Africa became a freelance industry and arts festivals proliferated. In the absence of permanent puppet theatres and with few theatre houses which present puppet shows on a regular basis, arts festivals with predominantly...

The author draws attention to Playback Theatre's ability to translate stories that speak to social injustice in South Africa. When the Playback Theatre ensemble intra-acts with stories, it encourages affective consciousness through social artistry. This is crucial in highlighting the potential of...

Traditional theatre genres appear to compete for audiences in a competitive post-modern culture. This is most likely owing to the availability of a wide range of more popular entertainment- and leisure activities. Drag events, which have just recently become acknowledged as part of mainstream arts...

By focusing on the use of body and ensemble in performance practice, this article aims to draw links between site-specific theatre, the neutral mask, sustainability and the work of the Johannesburg-based Well Worn theatre company, established in 2008. Using performance and play as an activist tool...

Aim: This mixed-methods exploratory study investigates the perceived health benefits of singing in a choir from an international sample of choristers. Method: An online questionnaire including demographic information, 28 quantitative statements and two qualitative questions relating to the...

Hinduism in South Africa finds expression in a series of fasts, festivals and rituals. The Kavady festival is one of the most popular festivals observed annually by mostly Tamil-speaking Hindus in South Africa. This article examines how the Thaipusam Kavady festival is understood and explained by a ...

This article asks which approaches are the most effective when making 'performances of pain' - performances that not only represent pain, but also transform it. I bring together three performances of pain from around the world: Backyard Games, which is based on a rape in Israel; Thetha Ngikhulume,...