By Ndalo Mbombo Last but certainly not least, Rhodes University will honour Eugenia Mbekeni in the very last session of the autumn graduation. The university recognises her for her revolutionary and impactful contribution to youth development and women’s empowerment. Mbekeni will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Laws (LLD). Although delighted to be honoured in this way, she said: “This recognition is not so much for me alone as Mama Eugenia Mbekeni; it’s for all the leadership of the Girl Guides and also for the girls who have gone through our training and became people of note after that.” In an…
Author: Ndalo Mbombo
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REVIEW: RU GAME By Ndalo Mbombo Enveloped in darkness, the RU GAME cast launched every audience member into a memory maze of bittersweet goodbyes shared with nervous, excited and proud loved ones, seeing off sons and daughters as they left home for Rhodes University. “Ufunde ke mntanam, ziduru kqithi ifees zase Rhodes.” “Ntwana yami! Ungamithisi ke njalo.” “Aww, our baby sister is going to university!” Each year, the Rhodes University Drama Department presents an orientation show to welcome first-year students by showing them what to expect in their new life via good theatre. This year’s show, directed by Makhaola Ndebele,…
By Ndalo Mbombo “I remember seeing the subject line in my emails and thinking I’m about to see bad news. For a good two minutes I couldn’t even express any emotion, I was just shocked. And the first person I called was my mother with the words ‘you are never going to believe this!'” says shortlisted playwright Naledi Malotana. Malotana has been shortlisted with three other talented playwrights for the 2025 National Arts Festival National Playwright competition. They are Thozama Busakwe, writer of Sasikhe Sabhabha (isiXhosa and English); Lwando Sindaphi, writer of I Will Teach You How to Share…
By Andrew Martin Harold Athol Lanigan Fugard was born 11 June 1932 in Middelburg in the Eastern Cape. In 1935, his family moved to Port Elizabeth, where he was raised and educated. From 1950, he studied philosophy and social anthropology at the University of Cape Town but left in 1953, a few months before he would have written his final examinations. He and a friend hitchhiked through Africa and spent two years in East Asia on a steamer ship, the SS Graigaur. On his return to South Africa, he worked various jobs in Johannesburg before focusing on theatre as a director. Fugard was arguably one of…