Die Jakes Gerwel Stigting, Suidoosterfees, Artscape en NATi kondig met trots aan die suksesvolle kandidate wat vanjaar gekies is om vir drie weke in Paulet Huis in KwaNojoli onder leiding van Oscar Petersen aan hulle dramatekste te skaaf.
Vanjaar se NATi Jong Sterre, wie se produksies op volgende jaar se Suidoosterfees debuteer, sluit in Gratia Nonkululeko Taka, Henu Baden, Luna August, Kristen Fichardt en Nichola Viviers.
Baie geluk aan al die suksesvolle kandidate!
The Jakes Gerwel Foundation, 𝗦𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗼𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗲𝘀, 𝗔𝗿𝘁𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 and 𝗡𝗔𝗧𝗶 proudly announce the successful candidates who were chosen this year to spend three weeks at Paulet House in KwaNojoli under the mentorship of Oscar Petersen to refine their drama texts.
This year’s NATi Rising Stars, whose productions will debut at next year’s Suidoosterfees, include Gratia Nonkululeko Taka, Henu Baden, Luna August, Kristen Fichardt and Nichola Viviers.
Congratulations to all of the successful candidates!
Based in the Western Cape, Gratia Nonkululeko Taka is a writer and theatre practitioner with a deep passion for storytelling. Her work explores themes of identity, mental health, love, loss and the quiet, often unseen ways that people carry their past into the present. She is best known for her television role as Nomvuyolo in the SABC2 drama series Paradys and for her active involvement in community and professional theatre, including the Bridgetown Theatre Company’s ‘Youth Capture’ programme. Taka approaches writing with both discipline and sensitivity. This allows her to create stories that feel alive – grounded in real emotion, strong character voices, particularly complex female ones, and moments that audiences can recognise within themselves.
Henu Baden, an actor, director and writer from Mpumalanga, now resides in Cape Town after graduating from UCT with an honours degree in theatre and performance. In 2024, he made his directorial debut with Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons (2024/25), followed by Low-Level Panic in 2026. He also acted in Every Brilliant Thing (2024), The Cardinal (2025), Closer (2025) and At Horizon’s End (2025). He is currently working on The Chance, a solo performance directed by Aldo Brincat. In addition, he has translated two play scripts from English to Afrikaans, Die keiser se nuwe klere (2024) and Hou die wêreld vas (2026), which have both been performed – and will be again – at KKNK and the Woordfees. His constant anchor, however, remains writing.
Luna August is an emerging playwright, educator and theatre-maker hailing from Elsies River, Cape Town. She holds a BA in Drama, a BA Honours in Theatre and Performance, and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education from UCT. Deeply influenced by the work of Paulo Freire and the principles of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed, Luna’s background includes facilitating applied theatre workshops that empower communities and explore complex socio-political realities. Currently pursuing a Master of Education in Higher Education Studies at Rhodes University, her creative and academic pursuits consistently sit at the intersection of pedagogy, social justice and performance.
Originally from Bloemfontein in the Free State, Kristen Fichardt has been living in Stellenbosch since 2022, when she began studying for a BA in Drama and Theatre Studies at Stellenbosch University. She is currently in the first year of her master’s degree, also in drama, after completing an honours degree in creative writing last year.
So far, she has been involved in co-writing four plays that have all been staged: Öh, Dinner met Diek, The Fogo in Mecrura Maison and Akrasia. She would now like to write more independently in order to develop her own voice and style.
Capetonian Nichola Viviers is an upcoming actor, writer and director with a love for South African contexts, subtexts and peculiarities in creative works. She graduated cum laude in 2023, and received her honours in writing and directing in 2025, from Stellenbosch University. She has written, directed and performed in several theatre projects and productions, including the Première-winning production Afval. Her production, Die koning en sy bruid, won the title of Best Production at the 2024 Première Theatre Festival. She made her acting debut with Showmax films Nuwejaar and Meisiekind, kykNET film My F*k, Marelize and the soon-to-be-released kykNET-telenovella Die Toring. Nichola hopes to write, direct and produce her own South African films and television.
