The Lab Community

Nwabisa Plaatjie was born in Cala, a small town in Eastern Cape, South Africa. NgumaNtsundu, uMngxongo, uSophitsho, Yem-yem, Ngqolomsila, uMadiba, uHala (clan name). She is a Theatre-maker, Producer, and Leader in South Africa, where people have long used performance to protest, advocate for change, educate, and entertain. She comes to the theatre embracing this history, holding the baton, until it is time to pass it on. Her craft constantly intersects with her activism so her career has revolved around five key objectives; developing professionalization in the Theatre and Dance industry, creating new plays, offering mentorship, establishing professional affiliations, and encouraging cross-sector collaborations. She serves as a trustee for the Denis Goldberg House of Hope, is a Mandela Washington Fellow, a member of the National Steering Committee of the newly formed Theatre and Dance Alliance, a member of ASSITEJ SA, and also a member of the newly-formed Theatre and Dance Employers Association of South Africa. She holds a Master’s degree in Theatre and Performance from the University of Cape Town. She is a full-time employee of the Baxter Theatre at the University of Cape Town, where she coordinates and curates their Masambe Theatre, driving its relaunch as a space for performance, collaboration, mentorship, and networking.  She is working to devise ways for Intsomi, the oral storytelling form of the amaXhosa people, to teach cultural policy, critically reflect on existing policies, carve out new policies, and share useful insights for reimagining a creative world post covid.