UPCOMING SHOWS : BROWSE & BOOK

Ub’Dope Shishini in proud association with POPArt presents: “J.Bobs Reads J.Bobs - the musings of a reluctant wordsmith”.

Mr Jefferson Bobs Tshabalala is a decorated, multiple award winning creative, whose career’s output has impacted the South African Arts landscape with many trajectory changing works - a variety of which stem from his core gift, as a studious writer.

Brilliant Actors have performed his work, Talented Singers have sung his songs, Versatile Performers have rapped his lyrics, and many a masterful tongue have Chowed his Text!

Now, it’s his turn - for him to experience first hand what he has put so many thespians through.

In his latest theatric offering, “J.Bobs Reads J.Bobs - the musings of a reluctant wordsmith”, he takes center stage as the Sterring of his own Pen. He reads us his work, gives us his reading of said vocation, proceeds to render how he intends the gifting to be read. It is the writer, on the lips of the performer, asking to be read. It is the reader, on the ear of the listener, asking to be heard. It is the words, from the mind of maverick, asking to be known.

Multi-award-winning theatre company Empatheatre, in partnership with groundWork, is proud to bring their acclaimed theatre production Buyela to Johannesburg from 20 to 21 October 2026.

Buyela, meaning “to return” in isiZulu, is set on the final afternoon of one of Durban's last working landfills. The play centres around two women who meet amid this mountain of discarded things. MaNothemba (played by Mpume Mthombeni) is a waste picker, matriarch and daughter, a woman who has spent 40 years transforming other people's waste into a livelihood, a brick house and support for eight grandchildren. Nokwanda, a journalist (played by Minenhle Sikhosana), arrives claiming to want her story, though she carries a secret she's slow to admit.

What unfolds between them is part detective game, part oral history, part fairy tale, with moments of humour woven throughout. Informed by four years of collaborative research on zero waste and informal work, Buyela weaves together mythology with the very real stories of what it means to live in a world that wastes both things and people. Drawing on the experiences, insights, and expertise of waste pickers and waste reclaimers, this beautifully crafted play asks us to think carefully about what we are willing to throw away and what refuses to disappear: grief, knowledge, solidarity and the circular dance of a living earth.

Buyela is directed by Neil Coppen and Roshina Ratnam and written by Dylan McGarry, Neil Coppen and Mpume Mthombeni, with additional text by Tony Miyambo. Set and puppetry design is by Dylan McGarry, with puppetry direction by Roshina Ratnam and an original score by Ghia Leigh.

After premiering at the University of KwaZulu-Natal Square Space Theatre for a short season, Buyela is now travelling to Johannesburg for two public performances at POPArt Theatre (59 Dorset Road, Greenside East, Johannesburg, 2193). We invite you to join us to collectively explore how, when it comes to our waste, we might choose to live better with the earth and with each other. 

Please RSVP by booking below. If you struggle with your booking - please email us directly at popartjhb@gmail.com

Three KKNK Kanna Award Nominations  :

• Best Debut Production Drama
• Best Director
• Best Actor (Winner)

National Arts Festival Ovation Winner

The Fool's Guide is an hilarious and highly physical journey through the world of contemporary tech, navigated with the virtuoso skill of an actor at the peak of his powers. The one man tour de force asks serious questions about the human condition, especially in relation to social media and AI, and presents unique and thought provoking answers through raucous comedy and poignant story telling.

Will Milton Yonaire be able to save his son Billy Yonaire before the TechBro Overlords do their worst? Can TechBro Billy survive the exploitation of a corrupt social media platform? Can his greatest fan, The FaNarrator protect her Tea Cup Yorkie called Porky from the assassination plot by Chad, the head of the TechBro Overlords? What is the secret carried by the Home Robot Vacuum Cleaner? 

Follow these colourful characters as they find their way through the slightly surreal comic adventure, which is also a fast paced thriller, complete with twists and surprises. The intriguing multi-threaded narrative blazes a trail from the familiar to landscapes beyond the veil of death.