A bright new voice in theatre, Campbell Meas has been announced as the winner of the 2025 National Playwright Competition with her play Vakavigwa (Burials/They were buried).
L to R: National Arts Festival's Nobesuthu Rayi (Stakeholder and Partnerships Manager) and Rucera Seethal (Artistic Director) with National Playwright Competition winner Campbell Meas, her mentor, Dr Refiloe Lapere, and HEINKEN Beverages' Bongani Semenya, Corporate Events Lead. Image supplied
The competition, facilitated by the National Arts Festival with the support of Heineken Beverages, sees a countrywide call for new plays in any language.
Meas joins an alumnus that includes Sibongakonke Mama, Amy Louise Wilson and Koleka Putuma who have previously won the competition.
Meas, who lives in Johannesburg, was thrilled to hear that her script had been selected as the winning play, “This has been an unexpected gift! I wasn't planning on entering at all, doubting that this was something I'd be right for. Throughout this period I've learnt to trust my instincts in how I choose to tell stories.”
The play was originally submitted as The Mechanics of Play but the title evolved during her process.
Vakavigwa (Burials/They were buried) will now be produced by the National Arts Festival to premiere at this year's Festival taking place in Makhanda, 26 June - 6 July 2025.
Says the National Arts Festival's artistic director, Rucera Seethal, “The National Playwright Competition supports playwrights to develop scripts beyond an idea. Congratulations to Campbell on her win, her play is likely to be a window into future directions of theatre, it's going to be thrilling seeing this work come to life. There were four finalists this year and they were all mentored through a process of creating a full script, so in addition to the winning script, there are three more promising scripts for the stage which also deserve attention.”
The other finalists in this year's competition were Thozama Busakwe, Naledi Malotana and Lwanda Sindaphi. Each of the finalists received R5,000 and mentorship to complete their play. The winner, Campbell Meas, receives a further R20,000 for her script and the opportunity to see it come to life at the festival.
In summarising their selection, the judges said, “Vakavigwa is a gripping and ambitious work that exemplifies the evolution of contemporary theatre. With its innovative use of multimedia integration and multi-plane storytelling, the play refuses to be confined to a conventional stage. Instead, it immerses the audience in an intricate theatrical experience that blends live performance with digital projections, layered soundscapes and dynamic staging.”
