Joe Blog

5 New Original Short Plays, Back-to-Back

Dates: 26 – 28 June 2025Tickets: R100 pp for ALL 5 shows, watched back-to- back.

This winter, the Nova Arts Festival returns with its celebrated showcase of bold, original One-Act Plays—offering a platform for emerging voices, daring storytelling, and theatrical innovation. Over four unique performances, audiences will experience five original short plays back-to-back, in an evening of theatre that is curated, thought-provoking, and emotionally unforgettable.

This year’s theme, “The Things We Keep,” invites artists and audiences alike to open the boxes we all carry. These are the memories we return to, the secrets we hide, the identities we protect, and the pain we bury. Sometimes they’re treasured. Sometimes, they haunt us. Each play is a unique unpacking—a glimpse into what we choose to hold onto, and what holds onto us.

From drama to absurdism, physical theatre to intimate monologue, the festival celebrates theatre that is both personal and universal, minimalist and explosive. With performances from some of the most exciting new theatre-makers in the country, the Nova Arts Festival continues to position itself as a launchpad for brave, contemporary, and nationally acclaimed work.

This section of the festival has proudly produced Naledi-Award nominated productions for the past two years, cementing its place as one of the most vital spaces for new theatrical voices in South Africa.

?? Play line-up and featured creators will be revealed soon.