The great explorer of the truth, the master-builder of human happiness no one rejects dislikes avoids pleasure itself because it is pleasure but because know who do not those how to pursue pleasures rationally encounter consequences that are extremely painful desires to obtain.
Read More ABOUT US
HerStory International Theatre Festival
ABOUT US
The HerStory International Theatre Festival returns from 07–10 August 2026, this time unfolding at the majestic Basotho Cultural Village in QwaQwa, nestled in the Maluti Mountains. Following its ground-breaking 2022 debut in Soweto—which marked a historic international milestone by uniting womxn theatre-makers from across Africa, Europe, and the diaspora—HerStory now takes root in QwaQwa, deepening its cultural, artistic, and global resonance.
The HerStory International Women’s Festival is a multidisciplinary arts and cultural platform dedicated to centring women’s voices, narratives, leadership, and creative agency. Taking place in QwaQwa from 07–10 August 2026, the festival commemorates 70 years since the 1956 Women’s March, deliberately positioning rural and peri-urban women at the heart of national remembrance, cultural production, and future-making.
Across five days, the festival celebrates womxn (including those who identify as womxn, as well as LGBTQIA+ communities) through powerful theatre productions, bold performances, curated dialogues, and transformative masterclasses. It offers a dynamic space where identity, belonging, and heritage are interrogated with urgency and imagination—amplifying stories that challenge, heal, and re-envision our collective futures.
Beyond its artistic programme, the festival stands as a cultural and tourism beacon—drawing audiences to the Eastern Free State, honouring the living heritage of the Basotho people, and stimulating the local creative economy. Artists, academics, and cultural leaders from across Africa and the globe will converge in QwaQwa to collectively reimagine sustainable, inclusive theatre for the 21st century.
HerStory International Theatre Festival 2026 is more than a stage—it is a movement, a legacy, and a bridge between ancestral wisdom, evolving cultural expression, and the global artistic landscape.
Event Place
Location
Event Place
Don’t miss out on the entertainment & fun!
FreeState QwaQwa
- Phuthaditjaba Auditorium, QwaQwa
- Joe’s Lifestyle Phuthaditjaba QwaQwa
- Golden Gate Highlands National Park/ Hotel and Chalets
- Basotho Cultural Village
Meetings
Events Timings
Meetings
Consulting Events offer a range of opportunities for sponsors to reach qualified prospects including
Recognition Dinners, Roundtables, Editorial Breakfasts and our Annual Consulting Summit.
MAR 06, 2017
International Branch
Right to find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying.
Read MoreJAN 01, 2017
Our First Big Project
To take a trivial example, which undertakes physical exercise some advantage.
Read MoreFEB 21, 2018
100 Project Milestone
To take a trivial example, which undertakes physical exercise some advantage.
Read MoreMAY 02, 2018
Best Employee Award
Right to find fault with a man who chooses enjoy too pleasure that has no annoying.
Read More Our Proffesionals
HerStory: Core Team
Our Proffesionals
Executive Producer / Artistic Director
Napo Masheane is a multi-award-winning playwright, producer, poet, performer, director, cultural activist, translator and acclaimed curator on both international and national stages. Being born in Soweto, growing up in Qwaqwa (Free State), Napo constantly crosses geographical, academic, and artistic borders as she holds a Marketing Management, Speech & Drama and Masters Degree in Creative Writing (MACW). A founding member of Feela Sistah! Spoken Word Collective; Napo went on to become one of the leading South African theatre matriarchs, after her provocative plays such as: ‘My Bum Is Genetic Deal With It’, ‘The Fat Black Women Sing’, ‘KHWEZI… Say My Name’, and 'My Vagina Was Not Buried With Him’. More so, Napo became the first black women to produce, write and direct a play: ‘A New Song’, at the Market Theatre mainstage (John Kani Theatre). Between 2017/18, Napo held the position of Deputy Artistic Director at The South African State Theatre (SAST). Her awards and accolades include, been named one of the Top 100 youth in South Africa by the Mail & Guardian - 2007, the winner of Mbokodo Award, under Theatre - 2012, Pan African Language Award, PASA for Sesotho Language – 2014, later worn SAFTA - 2016 for Umlilo, and the Feather Award for Rainbow Parent of the year - 2020. To this day Masheane has four poetry and play collections under her belt, Caves Speak in Metaphors (2009) and Fat Songs For My Girlfriends (2012), and Heartbeat Of The Rain (2019), My Bum Is Genetic Deal With It… and other Plays (2022). While picked up on the international circuit was one of her monologues performed by leading actor, Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years A Slave) at the Royal Court – London. Between 2019 - 2021 Napo sat as the advisory board member, under Performing Arts at Stockholm University Of The Arts, where along SP Escola de Teadro (Brazil) she taught African Theatre History. In 2022, Napo made history by founding and curating first of its kind HerStory International Theatre Festival, which led to being appointed as the Artist Director of Performing Arts Centre of the Free State (PACOFS), which led to her writing and directing the current flagship production, ’Thaba Bosiu - The Music.’
Festival Programme Manager
Phumzile Dlamini-Mnisi (Phatedi) is a seasoned communications, marketing, events, and stakeholder engagement professional with over 20 years of experience spanning the corporate, public, and non-profit sectors. A storyteller at heart and a passionate advocate for human connection and transformative experiences, she brings strategic leadership, creative vision, and a deep commitment to community impact to every project she undertakes. Phumzile's work is rooted in the belief that storytelling has the power to preserve heritage, inspire change, and foster meaningful dialogue. Throughout her career, she has successfully led and delivered high-profile events, strategic communications campaigns, brand repositioning initiatives, and stakeholder engagement programmes across South Africa and the African continent.
Artistic Manager
Annalisa Gxabu is an accomplished theatre and film practitioner and the Artistic Manager at Village Gossip Productions, as well as the producer of Thaba Bosiu – The Musical. She holds qualifications in Performing Arts and Live Performance from SWADA, Filton College (UK), and AFDA. Her performance career spans major local and international theatre festivals, including the National Arts Festival, ASSITEJ International Festival, and the Playhouse Community Arts Festival, with notable productions such as Giving Birth to My Father, Pockets of Knowledge, Ziyabila, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Her on-screen work includes Dreams of Gomorah, Ekasi Stories, and Mfolozi Street. Beyond performance, Annalisa has extensive experience in arts leadership and production, having served as an adjudicator, festival coordinator, and arts administrator across institutions such as Inkundla Theatre Festival, Catalina Theatre, Iliso Films, and The Playhouse Company (2020–2023).
Production Manager
Debra “Dee” Leshika is a trained performing arts practitioner and Production Manager, and a graduate of the FUBA School of Dramatic Arts. Drawn to the craft of theatre-making behind the scenes, she has built a strong career in stage and production management. Dee has stage-managed productions showcased on multiple stages locally and internationally, collaborating with award-winning creatives such as Paul Modjadji, Napo Masheane, and Clive Mathibe, and working on productions directed by esteemed practitioners including Mmapula Setlhako and Lesedi Job. Her experience spans senior stage management and production coordination for theatre productions, as well as roles in assistant stage management, wardrobe, and props for major corporate and cultural events, including the South African Sports Awards, Johannesburg Film Festival, and Vavasati International Women Festival.
Administrator Support
Daylene Oersen is an Hospitality Officer with years of experience in the hospitality industry. Her focus was shifted from studying social work to making sure all end-users are taken care of in style.From being an administrative intern at NEHAWU, assuring that all members administrative needs were taken care of, to being the Admin Support in the Artistic Department at PACOFS making sure all artists needs are taken care of.
Resident Choreographer
Zane Muller is a multidisciplinary theatre practitioner and creative professional serving as Logistics & Hospitality Officer. A Free State native, he is a theatre practitioner, film producer, choreographer, and creative director with extensive experience in managing large-scale productions, festivals, and live events. His directorial work includes sold-out theatre productions such as After Tears 1 & 2, staged at the Civic Theatre and PACOFS, as well as Motswadi at the MACUFE Dance Festival. Zane has coordinated and directed major carnivals and parades across the Free State, including the Bloem Show 2025 and Yonder Hartsfees in Kimberley. He is the founder of HDS Entertainment, through which he has delivered a wide range of theatre works, variety concerts, and residencies. A graduate in Film and Television, Zane is also deeply committed to arts education and youth development, facilitating school-based arts programmes and mentoring emerging artists, while collaborating with leading figures in the South African creative industry.
