The Reading Room - First play/First, play
Curated by Tiisetso MASHIFANE | Directed by Roshina RATNAM
PG 13
In a fast-paced creative world where the emerging writer and/or theatre maker is pressured to produce stage works as quickly as possible, the possibilities of play in early drafts, the wonders of a woeful draft, embracing the imperfect, understanding the unfinished and the unexpected directions that early explorations can take tend to fall away.
In its latest iteration, the Reading Room embraces the journey from the early days of writing a play to the final draft that reaches an audience to enjoy it. Under the theme First play/First, play, Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni curates and Roshina Ratnam directs a playreading of first drafts and final drafts from award-winning plays from esteemed playwrights.
Plays include:
Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni's Delela , Jefferson Tshabalala's Khongolose Khommanding Khommissars and Neil Coppen's NewFoundLand.
Photo by Andrea Katzeff
CREATIVE TEAM
TIISETSO MASHIFANE WA NONI - Curator
Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni is a South African playwright and theatre director who has been described as a “theatre prodigy” in the Cape Times for her debut play, Sainthood and as a writer-director who has “her ear to the ground, her heart in the right place and a mind worth tapping into” in the Daily Maverick for her play, Delela. Her latest play, Neighbourhood has been described as “a scathing indictment on the rupture of the South African dream” by The Cape Robyn.
With an interest in writing plays focused on social politics, history, and violence in contemporary South Africa, Mashifane is the recipient of multiple awards including back-to-back Fleur du Cap Theatre Award wins for Best New South African Script in 2024 and 2025 for Delela and Neighbourhood, the Canadian-South African playwriting award for lamb v. slaughterhouse and a Standard Bank Ovation Award for Sainthood.
ROSHINA RATNAM - Director
Roshina Ratnam is a director, writer, performer, and puppeteer. Her directorial credits include Surge and Glimmer—both nominated for Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards—and Ka-Boom! and Filled, which both received Ovation Awards at the 2025 National Arts Festival. As a performer, she toured internationally with The Life and Times of Michael K (Handspring Puppet Company/Lara Foot) and served as Assistant Director on Patmos with Jaco Bouwer and more recently on Andrew Buckland's Feedback at the Baxter. Roshina has also been a mentor and artistic advisor at the O’Neill National Puppetry Conference in Connecticut, an experience that deepened her commitment to collaborative exchange and the development of emerging artists. Passionate about amplifying diverse voices, she brings a deep sensitivity to storytelling, with a focus on emotional truth, visual impact, and the power of ensemble.