Grieve, that is how you survive.

This spoken word production is infused with physical theatre and music. It follows the journey of two young women who are navigating through and discovering their grief, through different stages of loss, from childhood into adulthood, examining how grief shapes, changes, and teaches us.

Told from two differing perspectives, their stories meet in the middle - that grief ultimately MUST happen in order to find ways to heal.

Through rich, poetic language and dynamic physical movement, the play reveals that surviving grief is a process of learning to honour loss, and in doing so, finding the strength to embrace life once again and to discover love at the centre of it all.

The production builds on the respective self-published poetry collections of both creators, Grace Storm (Love and Other Stuff) and Thandiwe Nqanda (No Time To Mourn), each of whom brings a wealth of expertise and personal insight into the themes of grief and survival.

The Choreo-Poem play debuted at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda in June 2024, and has since performed on various stages including the Theatre Arts in Cape Town, All African Women's Poetry Festival in Ghana, The Mandela Bay Theatre in Gqeberha, The Market Theatre in Johannesburg, Poetry Africa and the Pretoria State Theatre all in 2025 .

At its heart, "Grieve, That is How You Survive" is a meditation on how we carry and live with grief. It emphasises that grief is an integral part of love and life, and by allowing ourselves to fully experience it, we can ultimately find hope and healing.

Stage & Technical Manager: Sanele Sibiya

Sound Design: Jason Marshall, Tshilidzi Mfumpha and Thandiwe Nqanda