Member of the team

Stuart Palmer

Chairperson, Company Director, Actor, facilitator, scriptwriter and director

Stuart Palmer launched Lunchbox Theatre in the Garden Route in 2008. He has created 9 shows and he has travelled with his team all over the South Western and Eastern Cape and KZN.

He is a dynamic team leader who has inspired virtually the same team to go the distance with him for nearly 10 years. By 2018 they have staged over 600 shows and educated nearly 130 000 young South Africans. He gives credit to Vincent Meyburgh who was his partner at Jungle Theatre in Cape Town for introducing him to the power of live educational theatre.

It was with his blessing that the concept has been extended beyond the borders of the Western Cape. It is fitting that the Mother City gave birth to storytelling at its best which is making a big, positive difference to South Africa. Stuart is forever grateful to the wonderful supporters that have followed this success story over the years.

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Member of the team

Mncedisi Ncedani

Actor, Facilitator, Project Manager and Dreamer

Has been Stuart Palmer’s right-hand man from the outset. And what an asset he is. You can actually feel the energy between them when they act. They are in perfect yin yang balance. Both bring a wealth of knowledge from diverse experiences to the skills base. And they impart them freely in their quest to uplift others.

Mnce also brings great imagination with his experience of creating shows for the iKwezi Festival at the Baxter Theatre and the Grahamstown National Arts Theatre. His greatest love is teaching the youngsters drama through Lunchbox’s After School Activity Program. As an inspiring leader, he has led his group to the finals of the Eden Drama Festival.

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Mendy in Iran

Amanda Valela

Actor, Dancer and Facilitator

First and foremost, Amanda is a dancer with a natural flair for choreography. This is of great benefit to the children she teaches through Lunchbox Theatre’s After Schools Activities Program. She has enjoyed great success since joining Lunchbox Theatre as an original member in 2008.

She was chosen to represent young, South African black, female Directors in the “Ideas to Action Program” followed by the” Inspiring a Generation Program” and attended the BIBUSE Festival in Sweden. Next was the HIFA Festival in Zimbabwe where she co-directed iLifa, The Inheritance. She was invited to Linz, Austria, to attend the SHARXPIR Festival as part of ‘The Next Generation Program’.

She won second place in the Nederberg Competition in Knysna as a Dancer with the Masimanyane Theatre Group and won the Cape Town Dance Competition. She has performed in The National Dance Festival (Upington), The Ikhwezi Festival (Baxter Theatre), The KKNK Festival (Oudtshoorn) and the National Arts Festival (Grahamstown).

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Member of the team

Nkho Xipula

Nko is a greatly admired and talented actor who performs in many of the Lunchbox Theatre Shows with great passion. He delights in dancing and passing on his skills to youngsters through the After Schools Activities Program.

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Member of the team

Gailene Isaks

Gailene joined the team through the Actor Training Programme funded by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund .She is hilarious and a great asset to the team.

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Zodwa

Ntombizodwa Ntoni (Zodwa) started at Lunchbox Theatre in 2018 as an assistant to Amanda Valela’s After School Activities Program (ASAP) classes in local Plettenberg Bay schools. She ran her own dance classes in 2019 and 2020. During the hard lockdowns of the Covid pandemic she relocated back to the Eastern Cape and managed online dance classes until restrictions loosened. She then facilitated 2 dance classes at primary school learners in the rural areas near Alice in the Eastern Cape with students in her town. She is a talented and aspiring actress with a passion for the arts. Zodwa is also a model and won Miss Charity 2018. She loves to working kid’s and to helping her Community.