2026, South Africa marks 50 years since the June 16, 1976 Student Uprising. The flames of that day forever altered our country’s history — but what comes after the fire?
We invite theatre makers, storytellers, and creative voices to propose new works under the theme After the Fire.
We are not asking for re-tellings of 1976. Instead, we are looking for bold, urgent, and imaginative works that wrestle with its legacy, meaning, and echoes in the lives of young people today.
Submissions can be political and activist-driven, but we also welcome the stories that live in the shadows of politics: the personal, intimate, and everyday struggles and joys of youth who inherit the aftermath of history. Love, family, hustle, identity, friendship, art, and survival are also “after the fire.”
SUBMISSION & SELECTION PROCESS
• Call Opens: 17 September 2025
• Call Closes: 12 November 2025
• Shortlist Announced: 12 December 2025
• Shortlist presentations: February 2026
Shortlisted proposals will prepare a 5–10 minute presentation of the play-in-progress, accompanied by a well-articulated director’s vision.
From these presentations, 10 productions will be selected for the 2026 season.
PROGRAM STRUCTURE & SUPPORT
• Selected productions form part of the Joburg Theatre training and skills development programme.
• In the final month before staging, productions will present progress and production development leading into the final show.
• Producers are responsible for production costs, marketing, and ticket sales.
• Door Deal: 80/20 split (80% to artists, 20% to Joburg Theatre).
• Support Provided: Each production will receive R5,000 for production expenses and transportation to the theatre for presentations.
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CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS 2026 – FREEDOM’S CHILDREN
2026 marks 50 years since the youth of Soweto lit the path toward freedom on June 16, 1976. They became the generation of fire. But what of us — the ones who came after? We are Freedom’s Children.
This call invites theatre makers and emerging voices to propose new productions under the theme Freedom’s Children.
We are not asking for direct retellings of 1976. Instead, we seek works that reflect on its legacy and meaning for today’s generation.
What does it mean to be born into freedom yet still be fighting — for education, for dignity, for work, for space to dream? How do young people carry forward the courage of 1976 into the struggles of now? What stories sit alongside politics — the untold family histories, the silenced narratives, the love stories and heartbreaks that also make up the inheritance of freedom?
Whether your story is political, poetic, or deeply personal, we are looking for theatre that speaks in the voices of today’s youth, wrestling with the weight of history and the urgency of the present.
SUBMISSION & SELECTION PROCESS
• Call Opens: 17 September 2025
• Call Closes: 12 November 2025
Shortlist Announced: 12 December 2025
• Shortlist presentations: February 2026
Shortlisted proposals will prepare a 5–10 minute presentation of the play-in-progress, accompanied by a well-articulated director’s vision.
From these presentations, 10 productions will be selected for the 2026 season.
PROGRAM STRUCTURE & SUPPORT
• Selected productions form part of the Joburg Theatre training and skills development programme.
• In the final month before staging, productions will present progress and production development leading into the final show.
• Producers are responsible for production costs, marketing, and ticket sales.
• Door Deal: 80/20 split (80% to artists, 20% to Joburg Theatre).
• Support Provided: Each production will receive R5,000 for production expenses and transportation to the theatre for presentations.
DOWNLOAD APPLICATION FORM HERE
