Congratulations to the five writers that were chosen for the NATi Rising Stars Programme for upcoming playwrights, a collaborative project of leading players in performance arts: NATi (National Afrikaans Theatre Initiative), the Jakes Gerwel Foundation, Suidoosterfees, Kunste Onbeperk and Artscape.
Biographies of the 2024 participants
Diano October (32)
Diano October is a visual artist, writer and researcher from Bridgton in Oudtshoorn. His interests include science, sculpture, cultural systems and the creation of meaning. In 2022, Diano became involved with the award-winning multidisciplinary community project of the KKNK called Karoo Kaarte. He is part of the core team of Karoo Kaarte and has taken on roles such as researcher, artist, illustrator, tour guide and facilitator in this programme that aims to tell Oudtshoorn’s untold and undocumented stories. Diano’s astounding attention to detail enhances the effectiveness of the imagery he employs in various media.
Franka Kirby (24)
Franka Kirby is an actress, writer and budding theatre maker hailing from the Eastern Cape. She completed her four-year professional degree in theatre and performance studies at UCT in 2022 and collaborated on the ensemble work FAKE N.E.W.S., an initiative of InfluenZArt NPC, in 2023. During her studies, she participated in student films. In 2022 and 2023, she took part in the 48 Hour Film Project for creating short films. Franka won the 2024 Zabalaza Festival prize for best actress for her role in Extreme lengths. She regularly writes reviews for UNMUTE Dance Company and also writes for her own platform, loveartonly. Franka considers shooting Mince jou hare to be a big highlight. She intends to write stories that empower and represent her community through her exploration of her multiple identities as a woman, person of colour, South African, religious person and temple for creativity.
Mikyall Harris (22)
Mikyall David Harris is a young actor, writer and director from Worcester whose theatre works are making an impact on children (Ko’ lat o’s speel) and adult (Tsekmate) audiences alike. He completed his honours in applied theatre studies cum laude at Stellenbosch University in 2023. He wrote the script of Su’walla Kassam that was performed at this year’s KKNK and that received three prizes at the Stellenbosch University’s Première Theatre Festival for which it was originally created. He is currently a production and scriptwriting intern for the eTV soap Kelders van geheime. He is also busy with an own writing project with working title Vannie wal af in which he aims to explore themes such as cultural differences and LGBTQI+ identity in a raw and unfiltered narrative light.
Mosa Rabannye (25)
Mosa Neema Rabannye is an actress, writer, theatre maker, director and translator from Botshabelo. Her fiction has been published in online magazines such as the Isele Magazine and the New Valley Zine. She has performed at the Vrystaat Arts Festival as part of the Bloem Klown Troop and starred in various local films. She has collaborated with Theatre Arts, Creative Careers South Africa, Craft Bites International and Playwrights Guild of Canada. Mosa is a 2023 alumnus of the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Studies (JIAS) and has also been chosen as a Business and Arts South Africa (BASA) cultural producer and a Sprinng writing fellow this year. Her work focuses on the lives of persons of colour, the poor as well as on the LGBTQI+ community.
Nelandi Boshoff (23)
Nelandi Boshoff is an upcoming actress, singer and writer from Langebaan on the West Coast. During her drama studies at Stellenbosch University, she participated in various departmental productions, including Sonde met die spoke and The Addams family: A new musical. Her third-year play Bopha!, co-written with Osvaldo Vilanculo, was nominated for best script at the Première Theatre Festival. She completed her honours degree in theatre studies with specialisation in cabaret in 2023. Earlier this year, she received a Kanna nomination for best upcoming artist for her professional debut in the musical Roem: ’n Musiekverhaal by Deon Meyer and Coenie de Villiers.
