‘Exceptional quality and sheer excellence’: Naledi Theatre Awards 2026 nominees revealed

The Naledi Theatre Awards has announced the nominations for the 2026 awards, recognising productions staged during 2025. According to the awards board, judging panels met over two days to deliberate on performances seen throughout the year. Chief executive officer Lihan Pretorius said the process required significant dedication from the judges.

“As with most years, the dedication, skill and theatrical knowledge shown by our Naledi judges during this process is really awe inspiring,” Pretorius said. “The judges have shown their commitment to the theatrical community, by giving up their free time during the week and over weekends to see as many productions as possible, and for them the show doesn’t end with a curtain call.” He added that judges review each production in detail after attending performances. “They go home and critically review each production against a set of designated criteria, bringing to the fore their knowledge and expertise,” he said.

Board member and chair of the judging panels Renos Spanoudes said the standard of productions made the process challenging. “2025 was a difficult year to judge. Over the past two decades, we have seen exceptional quality and the sheer excellence of the South African theatre industry across the board,” Spanoudes said.

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“Once again, this year was no exception. More than 100 eligible productions were viewed and considered.” He said the diversity and quality of productions led to the discretionary reintroduction of the award for best cutting-edge production.

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