The final leg of the International Traditional Arts Festival takes place on November 4 and 5. This focuses on Is’cathamiya, the uniquely KZN music style made world famous by Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

The much-loved annual Isicathamiya Competition is preceded by regional competitions running for months across the province before the big event takes place. Now in its ninth year, it is presented under aegis of the Playhouse Company as always, but takes place this year in the Durban City Hall.

“A ground-breaker on the South African national arts roster, The Playhouse Company’s Traditional Arts Festival enables communities of different cultures to reach out to others through the performance of their individual creative expression,” says Playhouse Managing Artistic Director Linda Bukhosini, who founded the event. “Increasingly people around the globe are trying to discover their roots as an identity anchor in today’s fast-changing world. The Playhouse’s Traditional Arts Festival plays a key role as a host for the indigenous performance art forms, and as a boost for cultural tourism.”

The all-night crowd-puller Isicathamiya Competition commands a roster of more than 100 groups from across KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and even Gauteng. The event starts around 19h00 on November 4 and runs into the following morning to end with prize-giving. Book through Computicket.