Entertainment Archives - Page 8 of 17

SILENCE SPEAKS: The Unseen Voice opens uMgungundlovu Film Festival with deaf empowerment story

6Nov

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Entertainment

SILENCE SPEAKS: The Unseen Voice opens uMgungundlovu Film Festival with deaf empowerment story

By Sitha Maliwa: A hush is expected to fall over the Voortrekker Museum on November 14 as the lights dim and the first frame of The Unseen Voice flickers onto the screen - marking the opening of the 7th uMgungundlovu Film Festival (UFF). This year, the festival roars to life under the bold theme, “Imagine the World in My Image,” with a story that pierces the heart and ignites urgent conversations about inclusion and humanity. More than just a film festival, UFF has become a sanctuary for stories often silenced - a space where the unseen, the unheard, and the uncelebrated take centre stage. And what better way to open this year’s edition - which coincides with Disability Rights Awareness Month - than with a film that gives voice to those society t...

HONOURING THE ANCESTORS: Thandiswa Mazwai launches Sankofa Heritage Festival

5Nov

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Entertainment

HONOURING THE ANCESTORS: Thandiswa Mazwai launches Sankofa Heritage Festival

By Sitha Maliwa: Songstress Thandiswa Mazwa (Image supplied) South Africa’s queen of soul and cultural renaissance, Thandiswa Mazwai, is turning 50 - and she’s doing it in the only way she knows how: through music, heritage, and unapologetic African excellence. The Sankofa Heritage Festival, set for Saturday, 28 February 2026, at Carnival City’s Big Top Arena, is more than just a concert - it’s a homecoming of spirit, a sonic ritual, and a tribute to a legacy that continues to inspire generations. For three decades, Thandiswa has stood as a voice of resistance, healing, and pride. From the revolutionary energy of Bongo Maffin to the soul-stirring depth of her solo work, she has carried the heartbeat of a continent in every note. Now, with her latest album “Sankofa” - w...

SEQUINS SEQUINS, TASSELS AND TRIUMPH: Somgaga graduates at 52!

29Oct

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Entertainment

SEQUINS SEQUINS, TASSELS AND TRIUMPH: Somgaga graduates at 52!

By Zee: Somizi 'Somgaga' Mhlongo (Image: Instagram) Hold onto your wigs, darlings - Somizi Mhlongo has done it again! Just when we thought we’d seen it all from Mzansi’s most flamboyant star, he went and graduated - for the first time - at 52! Yes, you read that right. SomGAGA is officially a fashion graduate from the trendiest design hub in town, the Villioti Fashion Institute. The ceremony? Pure Somizi theatre. Cameras flashing, outfits glittering, and the star himself turning the graduation stage into his personal runway. Who else could make an academic cap look like couture? After receiving his qualification, the ever-grateful Somizi took to social media to gush over his support system. “To my family and friends - your love carried me. An...

YE OR NAY? Is Kanye West coming to South Africa?

23Oct

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Entertainment

YE OR NAY? Is Kanye West coming to South Africa?

By Thabo Shole-Mashao: Khanye West, now called Ye. (Image: TicketPro) Kanye West, arguably the world’s biggest hip hop star, may perform to a half-empty stadium in South Africa for his live concert this December -that is if the event will happen at all. Now known as just ‘Ye’, the cantankerous artist who is also a producer and fashion designer, could be met by mostly vacant seats and a hollow stadium field if the ‘Ye Live Concert’ is not abruptly cancelled before then. Slow ticket sales and threats The concert, which was supposed to be the biggest live music event of 2025, has been riddled with a litany of controversies, including slow ticket sales and legal threats. Event finances are central to this messy debacle. It is alleged that the South Afr...

RESILIENCE IN BLUE: A mother’s journey through love, science, and our dis-ease of Autism

22Oct

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Entertainment

RESILIENCE IN BLUE: A mother’s journey through love, science, and our dis-ease of Autism

By Cathay Yenana: In Bagamoyo, Tanzania. Regular drum making, acrobatics, arts, dance and music with boys from the neighbourhood. After evaluation and realisation of autism A Different Kind Of Mountain When a mother first hears the word autism, the world doesn’t end; it tilts. Time slows down, questions multiply, and the familiar becomes uncertain. It’s not the diagnosis itself that changes her life, but the vast, uncharted terrain that follows, the search for understanding, the daily negotiations with systems ill-equipped to help, and the quiet strength required to keep going when the world refuses to adapt. For Nena Tenacity, a South African woman now living between SA and Bagamoyo, Tanzania, that word became both a challenge and a calling. Amani, her son who is l...

STAGED LIFE: Theatre is still the social educator – (A review of Potholes, the play)

16Sep

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Entertainment

STAGED LIFE: Theatre is still the social educator – (A review of Potholes, the play)

By Mpumzi Mshweshwe: Theatre continues to poke the bear and pose questions to the public, aiming to reveal and expose the ills the world faces. Potholes, written and directed by Thato Mazui, was on show over the weekend of 13 August, where the audience was made to ponder issues such as love, infidelity, miscarriage, and parenthood. The play is a one-person show, also known as a one-hander, which is a play acted out by one. Passion, anguish and love The audience was taken on a ride where they saw Gift (Mvubu) laying bare his emotions on stage, from happiness to sadness, from passion to anguish, and from lover to deserter. Gift and the appropriately named Lerato navigate their relationship through the troubles of infidelity and deception,...

FROM MZANSI TO MANHATTAN: Thapelo Mokoena takes South Africa to the world’s most fascinating dinner

12Sep

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Entertainment

FROM MZANSI TO MANHATTAN: Thapelo Mokoena takes South Africa to the world’s most fascinating dinner

By Sith Maliwa: The Big Apple pulsed with glamour and cultural gravitas this week as Stella Artois staged its latest Let’s Do Dinner soirée - a dazzling global gathering where icons, visionaries, and creators meet over a meal. And right at the heart of it all, South Africa’s own Thapelo Mokoena claimed his seat among the world’s elite, shining as a proud representative of African excellence. The invitation-only affair - often described as “the world’s most fascinating dinner” - saw Mokoena share a table with none other than football legend David Beckham and tennis powerhouse Maria Sharapova. For one night, the dining table became a stage where cultures collided, ideas blossomed, and stories connected continents. Known for his magnetic presence on screen and his...

MORE THAN MUSIC: Jazz Wise turns young talent into industry leaders

12Sep

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Entertainment

MORE THAN MUSIC: Jazz Wise turns young talent into industry leaders

By Sitha Maliwa: The Joburg Theatre roared to life as the 2025 Jazz Wise Youth Music Business Workshop unfolded into a day of vision, inspiration, and unshakable energy. More than just a workshop, it became a stage where the future of Mzansi’s arts and culture industry announced itself with confidence and fire. Curated as part of the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz Festival, the youth-focused programme lived up to its promise of being an empowerment junction for young dreamers, innovators, and rising stars. From sunrise, the theatre was abuzz with the voices of high school learners, university students, and young professionals eager to seize wisdom from the greats – and to make their own mark. Under the masterful direction of Mandla Selby Maseko, the day unfolded in ...

COCKTAILS, COUTURE, AND CHAOS: My day at Malondie’s show

2Sep

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Entertainment

COCKTAILS, COUTURE, AND CHAOS: My day at Malondie’s show

By Zee: Darling, when Vaseline personally slides into your life with a shiny invite, you don’t RSVP - you just show up glowing. And show up we did, at Pere House in Kyalami, where Londeka Malondie turned fashion into a full-on cultural spectacle (and a bit of a circus, but we’ll get to that). The show opened with a Zulu dance sequence - a feast for the eyes - before Malondie flexed her creativity with four collections. The Sigege-inspired line gave heritage its moment, the “Fruits of Where We Come From” served colourful holiday realness, the Vaseline Collection reminded us why every household has that blue jar, and the black-and-white finale was for the corporate girlies who secretly want to be fashion killers at the office. Now, let’s talk sponsors. Apero...

82 AND UNSTOPABLE: Mam’Letta Mbulu steals hearts and headlines

28Aug

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Entertainment

82 AND UNSTOPABLE: Mam’Letta Mbulu steals hearts and headlines

By Zee: Oh babes, let me just spill… last weekend at the Thaba Eco Hotel, I was looking hot as usual, sipping on something dangerously delicious, and soaking in vibes so electric you could feel them in your soul. The Ignite Her Soul X-Perience? Honey, it was Everything. And the queen of the day? None other than the legendary, untouchable Mam’Letta Mbulu. Yes, the roots lady herself - 82 years young and still serving looks, wisdom, and absolute icon energy. The moment I stepped in, the room was dripping in elegance: earthy harvest tables that made me want to Instagram the whole thing and a colour palette screaming “grown, rich, classy, and unstoppable.” But babes, let’s be real - the décor was cute, but the music? The music had me clutching my pearls and my ...