The sound of applause and encores will once again be heard as South African performers return to live theatre. Under Level 2 of the lockdown, they will be performing on stage, in front of a maximum of 50 people.
Many are excited as they prepare to welcome audiences back to the theatre. They are also looking forward to generate much-needed revenue.
The silence has been deafening for months at theatres across the country as a result of the lockdown. Those performers, who did return to the stage performed in front of cameras and empty seats.
Brian Thabiso Nyoni — the artistic director of Ponga projects — says he is excited about the re-opening of theatres, as performing for the digital audience was not quite the same.
“Although we tried to use another medium but it didn’t really cover the gap as the theatres do. The element of theatre is the live performances, although we tried to skip to digital it didn’t serve the exact purpose that theatre serves. We were not making money out of it we were just posting content.”
Currently working on a project titled “The Eyes of an Idiot” Nyoni says he’s excited they’ll be performing to a paying audience. He’s concerned though that the production costs are still high.
“Although we are excited about the theatres re-opening, but we are not really excited about the number of the audiences. It’s for the good and our audience safety of our audience, but 50 audience members do not cover the production costs. So which means we are going to be running at a loss, which means we have to find other ways of getting an income.”
Performance artist, Sazi Xolizizwe is preparing for the upcoming Botshelo Uncensored Arts Festival at the Joburg Theatre. She says she can’t wait to get on stage and do what she does best.
“I feel so excited and I can’t wait to showcase my work and show people what they have been missing for the past few months. So with 50 people coming to watch, that’s amazing. It’s better than nothing so I can’t wait to go on stage and give it my all.”
Before the deadly Coronavirus gripped the world — the Joburg Theatre would have hosted at least 100 productions by this time of the year. However, the Coronavirus pandemic put a damper on this.
The theatre’s artistic director, Makhaola Ndebele says theatre-goers can expect some changes to the gallery to ensure restrictions are adhered to.
“There’s hand santising stations, screens at box office, in the theatre itself we have limited number of seats in spaces where they are able to move seat else we have created spaces in between.”
Although the theatre doors will be open, live streaming is still an option for those wanting to view shows from the comfort of their homes.
