National Arts Festival

The annual National Arts Festival in Makhanda is going ahead this year despite a drought in the area. 

The biggest annual celebration of the arts on the continent will start on Thursday June 27 until Wednesday July 7.

Here is a list of gay related shows:

Confessions of a Mormon Boy

Told with humour, song and unflinching honesty, Confessions of a Mormon Boy is the inspiring true story of storyteller Steven Fales’ journey from being a devoted, sixth-generation Mormon and father of two to coming out as gay and being excommunicated from his church. Riding an emotional roller coaster of extremes – from perfect Mormon boy in Utah to perfect rent boy in Manhattan – Fales discovers what it means to finally come home, if only in your heart.
Based on original Off-Broadway direction by Tony Award-winner Jack Hofsiss, this soulful solo play is performed with “an astonishing generosity of spirit, fierce comedy, and sharp intelligence” (Boston Globe). The climax has a simple, self-revelatory coup-de-theatre that “hits us between the eyes like a shot with a two-by-four” (Chicago Sun-Times). 

Pink Money

‘Pink money’ is the cash spent by LGBTIQ+ tourists on travel so that they can spend their holidays in ‘safe’ spaces. Pink money is the currency with which you can buy tolerance, provided you have the necessary cash.

In PINK MON€Y, an international collaboration between South Africans Annalyzer, Kieron Jina and Mbali Mdluli, Dutch artists Djana Covic and Nico de Rooij along with Antje Schupp from Switzerland, the theatre becomes an LGBTIQ+ club. The audience moves freely between dance floor, bar, DJ and two stages. 
In this club-cum-theatre,homophobia and racism are denounced, while the queer community is celebrated. PINK MON€Y makes a powerful plea for individuality, diversity, self-determined love and tolerance.

No Easter Sunday for Queers

No Easter Sunday for Queers follows the love story and hate crime of Napo and Mimi. Set in the past, present and over the course of a Easter Sunday sermon, the play takes the audience through a series of events that expose how religion, religious upbringing and communities play a role in instigating hate crimes. This brand-new play by award-winning poet and theatre maker Koleka Putuma is the story of two womxn who love each other and the response of society to that love.

For more information, visit https://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za/2019-festival/2019-programme/