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PRESS: Karavan Press authors at the Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees with a theatrical twist
Updated: 1 day ago
Karavan Press
Karavan Press is heading to Stellenbosch for the annual Woordfees that is taking place between 3 and 11 October 2026. Two authors, Louis Viljoen and Erika Viljoen (no relation), feature on this year's exciting programme with their recently published Karavan Press titles.
LOUIS VILJOEN'S SELECTED PLAYS
Monday, 5 October 2026, 11:30
Tickets: R50 (Quicket) and R80 (at the door)
As a playwright, Louis Viljoen is known for his intricate use of language and the uneasy intimacy in his plays that keeps audiences enthralled. SELECTED PLAYS is a new anthology that brings together ten of Viljoen’s most powerful theatrical works for the first time. One of his frequent collaborators, actress Emma Kotze, joins the writer for an unforgettable conversation exploring the craft, chaos, and provocative nature of South African theatre and the challenges of performing Viljoen’s dark work.
AGGRESSIEWE WATER
Tuesday, 6 October 2026, 14:30
Tickets: R50 (Quicket) and R80 (at the door)
Erika Viljoen’s Afrikaans memoir, AGGRESSIEWE WATER (Aggressive Water), was born from letters she wrote to family and friends when her family moved to a stretch of veld in the Klein Karoo with no other permanent residents. What would be a dream for many, became reality for her family – along with all the toil and sweat that entails. Erika’s child, Roland du Preez, artist, actor, and writer of the play Rescue Remedy, talks to her about her experiences.
Also featured on this year's Woordfees programme are authors Lethokuhle Msimang and Zubayr Charles – Lethokuhle with the short film SOIL AND GRASS, written, directed and narrated by her; and Zubayr with his novel, HARAM (JB Publishers), and his poetry collection, the sad boy’s starter pack and other poems (Jacana). Lethokuhle published THE FRIGHTENED and Zubayr published Please, don’t call me moffie with Karavan Press.
SOIL AND GRASS
Saturday, 3 October 2026
Road House Cinema at The Neelsie
Tickets: Free, but booking required (Quicket)
SOIL AND GRASS follows three traditional artisans in KwaZulu-Natal: a wire basket maker; a potter; and a palm weaver, whose practices move between rural heritage and urban adaptation. As materials are collected, transformed, and re-created, the film traces how knowledge persists in the midst of displacement. Interwoven with a personal story of departure and return, SOIL AND GRASS reflects on what of loneliness, uncertainty, abandonment, survives in the search for a true sense of home. It is also a meditation on women who create alone. Director, writer, and narrator Lethokuhle Msimang, cinematographer Thebe Gee, editor Kgaugelo Mpyana, and sound Yang Wen Liang.
Charles will be part of the following panel discussions at the EasyEquities Writers' Room:
WRITERS ON WRITERS: THE YOUNG GUNS with Mia Arderne (How to Stop Being a Naai) and Zubayr Charles (Haram) - 3 October 2026, 17:30, R50 (Quicket).
THREE PART HARMONY with Sarah Uheida (Not This Tender), Paula Fourie (Inked in Bone) and Zubayr Charles (the sad boy’s starter pack and other poems) - 4 October 2026, 16:00, R50 (Quicket).
You can access the full Toyota Stellenboch Woordfees programme, with the theme It's High Time / Dis Hood Tyd, here: WOORDFEES