The Centre for the Less Good Idea presents Season 11, a five-day festival of visual art, dance, theatre, site-specific installation, sound, film, pop-up performances, and conversation. Running from Wednesday 26 to Sunday 30 November 2025, the Season is curated by impresario Neo Muyanga, supported by The Centre’s core creative team, and shaped in collaboration with Johannesburg’s artists, theatre makers, musicians, writers, filmmakers and invited international guests.
Season 11 foregrounds collective making, one of The Centre’s core methodologies. Works across the week explore shared authorship, interdisciplinary exchange, and the ways artists and audiences navigate Johannesburg together.
PROGRAMME HIGHLIGHTS
Nightly Activations: SITE, LIGHT, ACTION
26–29 November: 19:00 daily (18:30 Thursday)
A dynamic series of site-specific performances and light-based installations across different locations on Fox Street and Arts on Main, curated by Marcus Neustetter. Free with any Season 11 ticket.
Moving the Mark (Evening 1 & 2)
Wed 26 November: 19:00 – William Kentridge Studio
Thu 27 Nov: 18:30: Events Space
A new programme pairing leading visual artists and choreographers in responsive experiments with mark-making, movement and collaboration. Featuring William Kentridge, Vincent Mantsoe, Penny Siopis, Mary Sibande, Kitty Phetla, Nandipha Mntambo, Shanell Winlock-Pailman and others.
Sounding Pictures
Thu 27 November: 20:15 – Centre Space
Live, improvised scores to silent films by William Kentridge, Frank Scheffer, Hallie Haller, Penny Siopis, and Noah Cohen.
Visual Radio Plays
Fri 28 November: 19:00 – Centre Space & 2nd Space
Short-form radio plays performed with live foley, performance and a dramaturgy of sound. Featured radio plays written by Andrew Buckland, Qondiswa James, Matthew Wilhelm-Solomon, and William Harding.
Guest Performance: Mallika Taneja – Be Careful (18+)
Fri 28 November: 20:45 – Events Space
A biting feminist satire confronting narratives of safety and control.
In Conversation: Mallika Taneja & Nomsa Mazwai
Sat 29 November: 15:00 – Events Space
A dialogue on patriarchy, public space, and women’s freedom of movement.
Double Bill: Vincent Mantsoe & Shanell Winlock-Pailman
Sat 29 November: 17:00 – Events Space
Two major new works: Desert Poems (Mantsoe) and Oh, death! Where is your sting? (Winlock-Pailman).
SO: From Script to Stage
Sat 29 November: 20:00 – Events Space
Three newly incubated works developed through The Centre’s SO Academy mentorship programmes.
In Conversation: Money Miss Road
Sun 30 November: 14:00 – Centre Space
A sonic call-and-response between Dele Olojede and Nombuso Mathibela on value, waste, and cultural meaning.
The Unexpected City
Sun 30 November:16:00 – Events Space
New short-form theatre rooted in Johannesburg’s stories and lived experiences. Playwrights include Jefferson Tshabalala, Momo Matsunyane, Melusi Mnqobi Molefe, and Mbe Mbhele.
NarowBi Party + Market
Sat 29 November: 16:00–22:00
Sun 30 November: 15:00–20:00
A courtyard activation of music, makers, artists and style curated by cultural collective NarowBi.
FULL PROGRAMME (AT A GLANCE)
WEDNESDAY 26 NOVEMBER
- 19:00 — Moving the Mark | Evening 1
- + Nightly Fox Street Activations (19:00)
THURSDAY 27 NOVEMBER
- 18:30 — Moving the Mark | Evening 2
- 20:15 — Sounding Pictures
- + Fox Street Activations (18:30)
FRIDAY 28 NOVEMBER
- 19:00 — Visual Radio Plays
- 20:45 — Guest Performance: Be Careful (18+)
- + Fox Street Activations (19:00)
SATURDAY 29 NOVEMBER
- 15:00 — In Conversation: Taneja & Mazwai
- 17:00 — Double Bill: Mantsoe & Winlock-Pailman
- 20:00 — SO | From Script to Stage
- 16:00–22:00 — NarowBi Party + Market (Courtyard)
- + Fox Street Activations (19:00)
SUNDAY 30 NOVEMBER
- 14:00 — In Conversation: Money Miss Road
- 16:00 — The Unexpected City
- 15:00–20:00 — NarowBi Party + Market (Courtyard)
The full programme can be found at: https://lessgoodidea.com
MEDIA NOTES
Season 11 continues The Centre’s longstanding commitment to:
- interdisciplinary experimentation,
- collaborative authorship,
- site-based performance, and
- provocations that engage Johannesburg as both subject and collaborator.
Season 11 marks two years of provocations initiated by curator Neo Muyanga, whose collective working methods have deepened The Centre’s approach to ensemble thinking, shared seeing and cross-disciplinary making.
ABOUT THE CENTRE
The Centre for the Less Good Idea was founded in 2016 by William Kentridge and Bronwyn Lace as a space for responsive thinking through experimental, collaborative and cross-disciplinary arts practices. To date, more than 500 performances, films, and installations have been developed, involving over 2500 artists.
SO | The Academy for the Less Good Idea expands The Centre’s unforced learning through mentorship in writing, directing, staging, lighting and collaborative creation.
The Centre Outside the Centre takes The Centre’s incubated work abroad, with recent presentations at the Royal Academy and Barbican (London), Fondation Cartier (Paris), and REDCAT (Los Angeles).
SOCIAL MEDIA
Website: lessgoodidea.com
Instagram: @lessgoodidea
Facebook: @lessgoodidea
YouTube: The Centre for the Less Good Idea
TikTok: @less.good.idea
