Lerato Tthlotlalemaje won Best Newcomer Award in 2004

RELATED LINKS: What’s hot GOT some leisure time? Check out our comprehensive guide to what to see and do in the city of gold. Read more This week in Joburg LUCILLE Davie rounds up the best jols in Jozi this week. Read more Theatre HOMEGROWN South African theatre is alive and well, as evidenced by the myriad productions staged at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown in July each year. Many of these travel the country afterwards, often ending up at Johannesburg's famous Market Theatre at the Newtown Cultural Precinct, or at the Civic Theatre in Braamfontein. Read more New theatre awards for Gauteng THE Naledi Theatre Awards, founded by the Theatre Managements of SA to replace the disbanded Vita Awards, are limited to Gauteng and aim to recognise and applaud excellence in theatre and in the performing arts. Read more

Executive director of the Naledi Awards, Dawn Lindberg

Joburg to honour its theatre finest The annual Naledi Awards will be held in February, to honour the best talent the province has to offer. January 18, 2006 By Sipho Maduna IT'S awards season in Celebville, and Joburg is no exception. The city is to host Gauteng's equivalent of Broadway's Tony Awards – the Naledi Awards – in February. The awards honour theatre actors, designers and directors and have taken the place of the defunct Vita Awards. Organised by Theatre Managements of South Africa (TMSA), the third annual Naledi Theatre Awards for Gauteng will take place on Sunday, 19 February at the new University of Johannesburg Arts Centre. ''Naledi, meaning 'shining star', is an event that will raise the profile of South African theatre and live entertainment in Gauteng and will hopefully soon go national,'' said Dali Tambo, the chairman of the board of trustees. According to Di Sparks, the Naledi publicist, the awards have become an eagerly awaited, leading event on the local theatrical calendar. They cover all mainstream professional, live theatre productions that took place in 2005 – in all 80 productions. The first Naledi Awards were made in 2003. Cash and trophies will be present to the winners in 25 categories, and there will be Lifetime Achievement Awards handed to the pillars of South African theatre. ''The finalists for the Naledi Awards 2005 will be as outstanding as [they were in the] past two years,'' said Dawn Lindberg, the awards executive director. This year's ceremony would undoubtedly be as successful as the two previous ones in giving recognition to truly brilliant and exceptional South African actors, directors and designers, she added. The judging panel will comprise of professionals, journalists and theatre lovers, and will include Zingi Mkefa, Christina Kennedy, Michael Burke and Carla Feldman. Lindberg single-handedly sourced all the sponsorship and will direct the awards ceremony. Sponsors include Standard Bank, FNB, Vodacom, Computicket, Gallo Music Group, the State Theatre, Wits Performing Arts Centre, Wharfedale, Saturn Records, Teljoy, Prosound, Christopher Seabrooke and Percy Tucker. The department of arts and culture and Virgin have, for the third time, donated two tickets to London to be drawn on the night. Mike Higgins, the managing director of Virgin South Africa, said his company was proud to be associated with the world-class talent that could be found on South African stages. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za