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Thamsanqa Simphiwe Khumalo Returns to NAF 2026 with Haunting New One-Woman Show “The Quiet”


 Thamsanqa Simphiwe Khumalo Returns to NAF 2026 with Haunting New One-Woman Show “The Quiet”


MAKHANDA – After sitting out last year’s National Arts Festival, acclaimed theatre-maker Thamsanqa Simphiwe Khumalo returns to Makhanda with The Quiet, a deeply moving and psychologically intense one-woman production that explores the silent battles of trauma, depression, and the heavy cost of unspoken pain.

Written by Simamkele Sodladla and rewritten and directed by Khumalo, the show features rising star Nolwazi Khanyile in the lead role of Asante, a woman quietly unravelling under the weight of trauma and depression. This production marks a significant homecoming for Khumalo, as he collaborates for the first time with young talent from Ulundi, Zululand.

Nothando Cebekhulu serves as stage manager, with mentorship from veteran theatre practitioner Bongani Mbatha.

The Quiet follows Asante, who seeks refuge in an old, isolated house, hoping the silence will finally bring her peace. Instead, she discovers a mysterious book bearing her name. As she reads aloud, the pages awaken, forcing her to confront the fractured versions of herself she has tried to bury: the girl who smiled too loud to hide her pain, the abandoned child still waiting by the door, and the angry woman she silenced for years.

“This is not a traditional ghost story,” says Khumalo. “It is about the haunting that lives inside us when we choose silence for too long. The house in this story is not made of bricks and mortar, it is built from every unsaid word, every forced smile, and every tear swallowed in the name of survival.”

Khumalo describes the work as raw, poetic, and deeply unsettling. “Through physical theatre and haunting sound design, we witness how unhealed trauma and depression can slowly turn a woman’s own mind and body into a house that consumes her from within. The Quiet is my love letter to every woman who was told to be quieter, nicer, stronger, or smaller. May this story scream what we were never allowed to say. May it hold space for the beautiful, broken parts of us that society taught us to hide.”

The Quiet is presented by Amaciko KwaZulu Art Project with support from the National Arts Festival.

Performance Details

Venue: Dick’s, Makhanda

02 July 2026 at 10:00

03 July 2026 at 16:00

04 July 2026 at 12:00

04 July 2026 at 18:30

Tickets: R80

Bookings are now open. Book your ticket here:

 https://tickets.nationalartsfestival.co.za/en/events/1147/the-quiet

Khumalo last appeared at the National Arts Festival in 2024 with Cursed. The Quiet, he returns with what he calls “a tender yet terrifying mirror” for audiences to reflect on their own silenced stories and unspoken struggles.

Photo credit: Amaciko KwaZulu Art Project

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