My Children My Africa! is presented from 22 July- 4 August 2026 at Artscape Arena in Cape Town, South Africa.

"In a township classroom in the Eastern Cape in 1984, an idealistic teacher attempts to instill a love of learning in his gifted pupil, but political unrest and the generational divide soon culminate in an explosive conflict with tragic consequences. Athol Fugard’s seminal 1989 play, My Children! My Africa! presents a candid and moving portrait of a country on the verge of revolution. This modern classic is Fugard’s hymn to the power of youth, education, hope and ideas".

For the theatre website click here
https://www.artscape.co.za/
For more on the play click here
https://iainfisher.com/fugard/athol-fugard-plays-port-elizabeth.html

Crossroads Theatre in New Brunswick present Sizwe Bansi is Dead in collaboration with John Kani.  It plays from 19 May- 14 June 2026.

The director is Ricardo Khan.

"One man’s death becomes another’s salvation in this indictment of South Africa’s Apartheid system which lasted through the 1990s.  Sizwe Bansi Is Dead, was written by South African playwright Athol Fugard in collaboration with John Kani and Winston Ntshona. Both actors/playwrights, Kani and Ntshona received Tony’s in 1975, for their starring roles in the play’s Broadway production. The Crossroads production of Sizwe is in collaboration with John Kani, the last remaining member of the writing team".

For the theatre website click here
https://www.crossroadstheatrecompany.org/
For more on the play click here
https://iainfisher.com/fugard/athol-fugard-statements.html

The Globe Cinema in  Calgary present Ken Russell’s The Devils on 3- 12 April 2026.

“The most controversial film of the 1970s was banned across the world for its deliriously overheated, shockingly blasphemous tale of sexual frenzy and demonic possession in a seventeenth-century French convent.  Based on Aldous Huxley’s novel The Devils of Loudun and John Whiting’s play The Devils, Ken Russell’s X-rated spectacle of the depraved stars Vanessa Redgrave as a hunchbacked nun whose lust for priest Father Grandier (Oliver Reed) sets off a perverse witch hunt and unleashes an orgy of sadomasochistic sacrilege”.

I'm not sure about the cinema's description -deliriously overheated, spectacle of the depraved etc, but the film is good.

For the cinema website click here
https://globecinema.ca/
For more on The Devils click here
https://iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-film-the-devils.html

Fiends In The Furrows film festival present Ken Russell’s The Lair of the White Worm on 23 April 2026 in the Leith Dockers Club.

“On a farm owned by Eve Trent (Catherine Oxenberg) and her sister Mary (Sammi Davis), young archaeologist Angus Flint (Peter Capaldi) discovers a large and inexplicable skull, which he soon deduces belonged to the D'Ampton Worm, a mythical beast supposedly slain generations ago by the ancestor of the current Lord D'Ampton (Hugh Grant). The predatory Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe) soon takes an interest in both Flint and the virginal Eve, hinting that the vicious D'Ampton Worm may still live”.

For the festival website click here
https://fiendsinthefurrows.com/
For more on The Lair of the White Worm click here
https://iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-film-lair-white-worm.html

Ken Russell's Tommy will be shown in IMAX cinemas on 17- 18 March 2026 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the film's release.

"This classic rock opera is brought energetically to life by an outstanding cast including many stars of the rock music industry. Told through the remarkable music of The Who, this is the story of Tommy, who, when just a boy of six, witnessed the murder of his father by his mother (Ann-Margret) and her lover (Oliver Reed). They command him, “You didn’t hear it, you didn’t see it, and you won’t say anything to anyone…” As a result, the traumatized boy retreats into the shadows of his mind and becomes deaf, dumb and blind. Growing into manhood, Tommy (Roger Daltrey) is subjected to several bizarre cure attempts by The Acid Queen (Tina Turner), the Preacher (Eric Clapton), and the Specialist (Jack Nicholson). In spite of his handicap, Tommy defeats the Pinball Wizard (Elton John) and becomes the champ, attaining a devoted following. When he is finally cured, he is hailed by his fans as a Messiah”.

For the cinema site click here
https://www.imax.com/en/gb
For more on the film click here
https://iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-film-tommy.html