Writer: Pantsula Griot | Artwork: Chepape Makgato ft. Mzwandile Buthelezi

In Brixton, the almost gentrified yet still precipitous part of the Auckland Park belt —Lit.Culture and The Writers’ Lab are preparing to host an evening that promises to be as much a reckoning as a celebration. On 12 March 2025, the launch of A Gathering of Stories—a searing anthology by five Southern African playwrights—will transform Breezeblock’s industrial-chic space into a sanctuary for voices that refuse to be buried.

Described in press materials as “a mosaic of interconnected narratives,” the event is more than a book launch; it is an act of defiance. As the collection’s announcement declares: “We wanted to build a world / For characters that had been walking with us for a while / […] They insisted on occupying space beyond memory and imagination.” These stories, once confined to drafts and whispers, now demand to be heard.

History as a Living Archive

Curated by The Writers’ Lab, a collective championing African theatrical innovation, the anthology brings together themes of trauma, identity, and resilience. Eddie Thaba’s Defiance grapples with the wreckage of abandoned dreams, while Dr. Katlego Chale’s Djeli—a nod to West African griot traditions—interrogates memory’s contradictions. Dr. Refiloe Lepere’s Postcards: Bodily Preserves strips truth to its visceral core, mapping the body as both archive and battleground. Ronald Manganye’s The Chanting Youth dissects generational clashes over justice, and Mxolisi Masilela’s Uncharted unearths secrets that blur the lines between passion and ruin.

An Invitation to Listen

Attendees can expect readings punctuated by performances—a hallmark of The Writers’ Lab’s events. Here, stories are never just read. They are chanted. They are lived.

A Gathering of Stories is not merely an anthology; it is a living archive of memory, a reckoning with the past, and a meditation on what it means to tell one’s truth. Across its pages, writers navigate the intersections of history and identity, crafting narratives that resonate with both personal and collective urgency.

These stories have lived with us. Now, they are calling to you.

Event Details:

📅 Date: 12 March 2025

⏰ Time: 18:00

📍 Location: Lit.Culture @ Breezeblock, 29 Chiswick Street, Brixton, Johannesburg

📩 RSVP: DM – lit_culture_books or email thewriterslabpta@gmail.com