Live with Nicolene Burger

Most people do not come and sit down in front of me because they want to talk about relationships. They arrive with questions about creativity, blocks, uncertainty, and the life they long to create. Yet, inevitably, our conversations lead us towards relationships.

Our relationships are creations too. They ask for enormous creative energy, especially when we want them to remain alive across many years, identities, transitions and seasons of change. For a long time, relationships have been the “shadow” part of my work: the tender, intimate territory people begin to reveal once we are inside a trusted container together. I eventually realised that I have been speaking about relationships for much of my life. Having spent 17 years in a partnership that began when we were high-school sweethearts and has since moved through many phases and structures, I have often been the person people come to when they need to speak honestly about love.

This realisation has led me to develop a third part of my offering, focused on love, eros and the ongoing creation of relationships.

A couple of months ago, I was invited to speak at PIP: Talks on the theme of long-term relationships. In The Art of Long-Term Relationships, I draw from my own partnership and our journey through adulthood, work, community, rupture, reinvention and the continuous redefining of what love can look like over time.

What if the moment you think your relationship is ending is actually the moment it is about to evolve?

Through lived experience and the myth of Skeleton Woman, I explore the life-death-life cycle of love, and the grief, uncertainty, autonomy, communication and courage involved in allowing old ways of relating to die so that something more honest can be born.

This talk is for anyone who has wondered what it takes to sustain a long-term relationship through its many cycles, whether change means failure, and whether it might instead be an invitation into a deeper and more expansive experience of love.

Nicolene sits down with her life partner, Thabo Krouwkam, for a candid conversation about living a creative life beyond the nine-to-five. Together, they explore how music becomes a doorway into deeper emotional connection, the courage it takes to find and free your voice, and the unexpected ways creativity unfolds when shared with others.

Recorded in the comfort of their home, this tender exchange touches on the mystery behind songwriting, the magic of collaboration, and the grounding rituals that fuel Thabo’s prolific musical output.

Discover Thabo and the Crows on Spotify and Instagram:🎵 Spotify📸 Instagram

In this intimate, reflective conversation recorded beside Silvermine Lake, Nicolene sits down with German co-founder of Orbio Earth, Forbes 30 under 30 Europe 2025 nominee, and fellow creative thinker, Robert Huppertz, for conversation to explore what it truly means to live a life in alignment with evolving values.

Nicolene and Rob share a deep curiosity about transformation—personal, collective, and systemic. In this episode, they unpack the growing pains and liberations of redefining what “progress” means beyond conventional success stories. Together, they unpack the personal, emotional, and systemic aspects of change and sustainability through the lens of Robert’s journey from start-up culture to building a joyful life in South Africa.

In 2024, I hosted a talk/discussion called, Transformation Through Creative Play. The participants in the recording are Anine Hollander, Sasha Dolgina, and Willem Botha/Simba.

Relearning to play was the first change I made to my creative practice (and life) to break through a big block and depression I had during my undergraduate studies. 
However, it was not easy or comfortable - because I was faced with the reality that I no longer knew how to play. 
I had gradually been conditioned to take myself and my work so seriously that fun, curiosity, and exploration felt agonizing. 
Clumsily but determined, I rediscovered how to play over 3 years. That might seem like a long time, but I found that just as gradually as I was trained not to play but:
plan
worry
anticipate
think
use logic
​I had to slowly caux the clown and inner child out of the shadows of my being and make them comfortable on my stage of personal expression. Playing had to become a practice before it could become second nature again. 
So, what is Creative Play?
How do we play creatively? 
And what blocks us from doing so as often as needed?
This and more is what we discussed in my Transformation through Creative Play. 
There were some doodling materials for those visually inclined and tasty kombucha to awaken the senses. 🔥

I'd love to contextualize this episode with an intro blurb, but at the moment I am on vocal rest because I hurt my voice :(

So, please read this to understand the larger context of this episode:

In October last year, Jana and I recorded what we call an "airing" (referencing the podcast we have together called Air It) about my performance piece, The Bizarre Bazaar. This was an open-ended and unstructured discussion to help me think through the conceptual and practical elements of the show, which I was creating for my master's in Theatre and Performance. We were cooking and talking, which is so indicative of our relationship, collaboration, and hang-outs - so be ready for some domestic ASMR and also some cured throughts as we hype each other up.

The end product was slightly different from what we aired in this conversation, because the process led me to shift and alter as I came closer to the deadline in November 2023. However, it captures some of the issues I am digesting in this study.

This week, I've been listening back to this conversation as I am now writing my second seminar paper and preparing to build The Bizarre Bazaar out to an even bigger and more complex performance.

I thought to release this episode now so you, my listeners, followers, and colleagues can have insight into my practice and some of the themes I am working on within this project.

I am running a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to execute my final performance of The Bizarre Bazaar for my course. These funds will cover venue fees, traveling costs, and resources for the rehearsals as I now plan to involve more independent creatives in the production of this show over the next 6 months.

Please consider contributing! You can choose from a collection of stunning pieces of my visual art as a reward for your contribution. Go to this link to read more and help me out:

https://thundafund.africa/campaign/58B9A54DF07849EE163D

Sarah has recreated her life many times. During the heavy lockdown a couple of years ago, she moved off-grid and left her old life and creations behind in Cape Town.

In this episode, I ask her about what was required for her to undergo such a complete transformation, and how she has dealt with the "death" of past selves and leaving successful projects behind.

We discuss the role of trust in the process of consciously creating your life, how to listen to and follow the "prompts" life brings, and the abundance in community.

Follow Sarah on Instagram at @sarahleebeckett

I live in a magical community of people who actively create their lives and around us SUCH creative people orbit in a very inspiring way.

I have decided to do interviews with these weird and wonderful folks to understand what creative practices, philosophies, disciplines, stories, routines, etc. underpin their process of consciously claiming their creative power.

This little blurb is an introduction to this series.

After a year of consulting on Jana's PhD project, Nicolene checks in with her on how her writing, relationship with her creative practice, and organizational abilities have grown.

Julia asks me to help her find her artistic voice. This question leads us to a discussion on the audacity to call yourself an artist, how to start, resistance, desire, fear, and a couple of practices.

I recommend you listen to this episode when you can follow along and have a journey ready.

Here is a link to the FREE Creative Fire Challenge I mention in the episode: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA494KKKlr2Zo4bmJt-qOhG_4AIL59s1y

In this episode, I do a live Persephone Unblocking Session with a student of scenography.

We had some technical difficulties, but I didn't feel like editing them out (if it irritates you maybe you can be my editor ;) hehe)