Mbabane is set to become a major meeting point for African theatre and creativity when the October International Theatre Festival (OITF) takes centre stage from October 1 to 3, 2026.
Presented in collaboration with GENESIS Ekucaleni Media, the three-day festival is being positioned as a major intervention in Eswatini’s theatre landscape, bringing together performers, theatre practitioners, facilitators, students and other creatives from across the region.
The festival was created with the aim of reviving theatre in Eswatini, providing platforms for artists and creating new opportunities throughout the creative sector.
Organisers have structured OITF around five creative pillars: the Theatre Festival, Murals, Schools Festival, Creative Arts Masterclass Workshops and the Dzeliwe Street Festival.
Together, the five components are intended to extend the festival beyond conventional theatre performances and create opportunities for participation across different areas of the arts.
The festival arrives at a significant point in Eswatini’s theatre history. According to organisers, the country has not hosted a theatre festival of comparable magnitude since the Matiwane Manana Arts Festival of the late 1990s.
The festival was founded by Khethabahle Mthethwa at the Eswatini Theatre Club, with the late Prince Masitsela serving as its patron.
Decades later, OITF is seeking to create a new chapter for theatre in the country by bringing together productions and practitioners from Eswatini and other African countries.
The organisers see the festival as an opportunity to rebuild audiences, create platforms for local productions and expose Eswatini’s theatre practitioners to new ideas and approaches from the region.
Over three days, audiences will have access to more than 15 theatre productions, creating an extensive programme for theatre enthusiasts.
The festival will also feature approximately 20 workshops designed to develop skills and encourage interaction between local and international practitioners.
The workshops will take place across five venues in Mbabane. These are Alliance Française, the Eswatini Theatre Club Auditorium, Candlelight Room, American Embassy Corner and Yini Loku Gallery.
The distribution of activities across multiple venues is expected to turn different parts of the city into spaces for artistic engagement during the festival.
Facilitators, instructors and performers will travel from Eswatini, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana.
Their participation will create opportunities for cultural exchange while exposing local practitioners and audiences to different approaches to African storytelling and theatre production.
The international component is one of the defining features of OITF, with the organisers seeking to establish connections between Eswatini’s creative community and artists from across Southern Africa.
The programme has also been strengthened through international partnerships.
Through the Zambezi Cross initiative and support from South Africa’s Mzansi Golden Economy, touring productions including Amagrootman, Woza Albert and Stevovo the Puppeteer will be brought to Eswatini audiences.
Experts supported through a partnership with the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation will also facilitate exchange workshops.
The workshops will provide an opportunity for local creatives to learn from practitioners working in different areas of the creative sector.
For emerging artists, such interactions can provide exposure to different production methods, performance techniques and approaches to developing sustainable creative careers.
