Latest News Archive
Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
07 March 2025
|
Story Anthony Mthembu
|
Photo Supplied
Crystal-Donna Roberts, recipient of the 2016 Kovsie Ambassador Award and award-winning actress, has died following a battle with breast cancer.
The University of the Free State (UFS) is deeply saddened by the passing of alumna and award-winning actress Crystal-Donna Roberts at the age of 41. According to Eyewitness News (EWN), Roberts passed away during the early hours of 6 March 2025, following a long battle with breast cancer.
The UFS extends its deepest condolences to Roberts’ family, friends, colleagues, and supporters.
Celebrating a beloved actress
Roberts graduated from the UFS with a BA Drama and Theatre Arts degree in 2005 and went on to create work that was beloved across the country and beyond. She starred in the Afrikaans soap opera 7de Laan and shows like Getroud Met Rugby, Montana and Vallei van Sluiers, among others. Her lead role in the film Krotoa earned her the Best Actress award in 2018 at the South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs).
Her extensive career in film and television was one of the reasons she was recognised by the UFS with the Kovsie Ambassador Award in 2016. This is an award given to alumni whose accomplishments have not only benefited themselves but their community and the UFS. Although Roberts was well-known for her work on stage and screens, she was also an author. She released her debut novel Speurder Sammi: Die blou steen (Detective Sammi: The Blue Stone) in 2022.
Outpouring of praise
Since the news of Roberts’ passing broke, there has been an outpouring of tributes on social media. Many of her supporters and colleagues have described her as an iconic force who was full of life and inspired many. Alistair Izobell, who starred alongside Roberts in Arendsvlei, responded to the news through a Facebook post which said, “My dearest sister Crystal-Donna Roberts my heart is broken today. You got your wings and your pain is no more. I am thrilled I got to do a chapter of my life with you. I will remember you with the great spirit you were. Now rest sweetly.”
New book looks at ways in which to tackle HIV-challenges
2011-11-29
 |
|
Prof. Dennis Francis with Marjorie Human who designed the cover of the book, Acting on HIV.
|
The HIV pandemic has brought out the best and worst in humans in terms of response. On the one hand it has prompted stigma and violence and on the other it has brought about constructive and supportive responses from various individuals and groups. A new book, Acting on HIV, edited by Prof. Dennis Francis, Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of the Free State, looks at how drama can be used to promote vital social change as well as individual behavioural change.
Acting on HIV offers a systematic inquiry into drama as an approach to discuss HIV/AIDS and related attitudes and behaviours. The book is a scholarly text and includes the work of some twenty exceptionally creative authors. Contributing authors to the book include, amongst others, Proff. Hazel Barnes (University of the Witwatersrand), Rob Pattman (Stellenbosch University) and Yvonne Sliep from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
“This project started in 2009 and has taken much of my time to bring together the work of exceptionally creative authors. The research that is communicated through the book is original and timely and makes a significant contribution to conversations about the role/s and significance of drama in addressing issues of HIV & AIDS,” says Prof. Francis.