Eswatini Mbabane- Mbabane is set to become a vibrant meeting place for African creativity when the October International Theatre Festival (OITF), presented in collaboration with GENESIS Ekucaleni Media, takes place from October 1 to 3 2026.
Created to revive theatre in Eswatini, provide a platform for artists and open new opportunities across the creative sector, OITF is built around five creative pillars: The Theatre Festival, Murals, Schools Festival, Creative Arts Masterclass Workshops and the Dzeliwe Street Festival.
The festival arrives at an important moment. Eswatini has not hosted a theatre festival of comparable magnitude since the Matiwane Manana Arts Festival of the late 1990s, founded by Khethabahle Mthethwa at the Eswatini Theatre Club, with the late Prince Masitsela as patron.
Over three action-packed days, audiences will experience more than 15 theatre productions, while approximately 20 workshops will be presented across five venues: Alliance Française, the Eswatini Theatre Club Auditorium, Candlelight Room, American Embassy Corner and Yini Loku Gallery. Facilitators, instructors and performers will come from Eswatini, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia and Botswana, creating a rich programme of cultural exchange and African storytelling.
International partnerships strengthen the programme. Through the Zambezi Cross and support from South Africa’s Mzansi Golden Economy, touring productions including Amagrootman, Woza Albert and Stevovo the Puppeteer will reach Eswatini audiences. Experts supported through a partnership with the Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation will also lead exchange workshops.
Local productions will share the spotlight, including work by COYI Theatre and The Big Kraal Theatre’s The Ants, a moving story that explores social issues through the perspective of a destitute person who sees life differently.
OITF is more than a performing arts event. Theatre communicates through drama, music, dance and storytelling, while the festival strengthens the wider creative value chain. More than 100 creatives are engaged in artist management, liaison, stage management, design, workshop coordination, safety, branding, film, video and content creation. About 750 participants are expected to benefit from the workshops.
The vision is to establish OITF as an annual event, supported by year-round activities that grow artists, audiences and Eswatini’s creative economy.
Creatives, schools, exhibitors and street-festival stallholders are invited to register. Tickets are available through MojaTicket. Follow the October International Theatre Festival on social media.
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