First ‘Perfect Pitch’ winner: A million rand for De Klerk Oelofse

The actor De Klerk Oelofse is the winner of R1 million in development funding for the Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees’ first The Perfect Pitch theatre initiative.

The winner was announced on Thursday evening, 8 October 2026, following the concept pitches of the eight selected finalists to a panel and an audience at the festival. The comedian Alan Committie was the host at the Adam Small Auditorium in Stellenbosch.

The theatre makers were each given five minutes to sell their dream production to business leaders and investors. “I just want to say to the panel, this can only be done with a full orchestra,” was Oelofse’s comment on his winning concept, Sodom en Cremora. “Whether we use the orchestras of the universities where I also want to stage it, or spend the money for a professional orchestra, we’re going to do it,” Oelofse said.

The rest of the finalists were Brett Bailey (Alice in Pondoland), Jason Jacobs (Sout), ⁠Dylan McGarry (Whale Fall), Byron Klassen en Miché van Wyk (Khomani & Euridika: Die lied onder die koperstof), Brendon Daniels (Spat), Nicola Hanekom (Die deurnagtrein van slaapwaens), and Carel Nel (Vastrap).

The panellists were representatives of organisations that all contribute to the initiative: Cornelia Faasen (NATi), Carel Nolte (EasyEquities), Pieter Toerien (Pieter Toerien Productions), and Saartjie Botha (Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees).

“Tonight I was reminded of the value of festivals. It’s something I haven’t experienced in a long time. And I can assure you, because they had a platform here tonight, those eight shows will be realised and presented somewhere. And that’s why festivals exist,” said Toerien.

Nolte further awarded R20 000 to each of the other finalists. “It’s a huge privilege to have been part of this initiative, both personally and on behalf of EasyEquities. And we want more organisations to get involved so that we can have more money and winners,” Nolte said.

Botha, director of the Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees, said the initiative was born out of the need for new ways to secure funding to make the festival possible by bringing productions to the stage. “Organising a festival takes a lot of time and hard work, but the hardest work is getting money. We start with zero every year. We wrap up the festival on Sunday, then we talk to sponsors and donors, but ultimately we start with programming before we’ve secured any funding. So hosting a festival is a big risk. And it’s incredibly wonderful to see: goodness, but the work is good! It’s difficult to host any initiative for the first time, we’ve learned valuable lessons, and we hope to host The Perfect Pitch again next year, this time with a bit more structure,” Botha said.