South Africa’s major theatres are situated in Cape Town – the New York of performance-filled cities.
The Cape Town theatre community is saturated with a diverse range of productions – enough for anyone to fill their calendar for every week of the year. Well, this had been the reality before the global COVID-19 pandemic. With many countries choosing to 'lockdown' and set stringent laws and protocols to lessen the spread of the virus, many communities have suffered as a result of the virus putting a halt to business.
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” ― Oscar Wilde
2019 saw an increasing trend in the theme of gender-based violence amongst the plays showcased throughout the year. Productions like #JustMen sparked major waves in the Theatre community in a fragile time in our country with many losses of female life at the hands of men. The production offered insightful narratives of male experiences as the performers explore their culpability in the perpetuation of rape culture. This production featured at the Baxter Theatre's Golden Arrow Studio, offering an intimate setting with the darkroom, soft lighting and few candles positioned on opposite sides of the stage inviting a sense of intimacy between the performers and audience. Another play, The Hucksters, featured only a few weeks after the closing of production of #JustMen, seemingly carried the same themes of subjugation and abuse against women.
In a time when there had been an increasing awareness of the #MeToo movement, where women have spoken out against their abusers and traumatic experiences, these productions touched on a topic many had been afraid to tackle. Despite being their second run of the production, #JustMen proved the importance of the theme raised and its relevance. With yet another wave of increasing violence against women and children, 2020 has been quite a difficult year for most.
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown, many businesses have had to close their doors in compliance with government laws. Unfortunately, as the months have gone by, with many theatres, studios, and the like with their doors still closed, many businesses have been forced to retrench their staff and close their doors indefinitely.
In an attempt to revive interest for the performing arts community, and seek relief funding from the government, South African artists and creatives got together to create the #LightSARed campaign. Many groups have gotten together across social media to publishing similar posts:
The organisation sought government relief funding as the South African performance and industry have been ignored and forgotten. The organisation has stated the following in response to enquiries about the organisations' cause:
In early March, the first rumblings started that the South African Government would be implementing a range of measures to mitigate the risks posed by Covid-19, in South Africa. Companies in the events sector saw the first in a slew of event cancellations. Before we knew it, all schools were closed and gatherings greater than 50 people were banned. At that moment, every stakeholder in the events and theatre industry was forced to come to terms with the reality that our industry would be the first to feel the impact and would likely be the last to recover from the economic tsunami set off by the Covid-19 quake. We refuse to be the forgotten industry. For decades our industry has brought smiles to faces, we've provided entertainment with theatre productions, political rallies, sports events, festivals and so much more to South Africa. We are usually behind the scenes, but we are now standing up to #LightSAred and make our voice heard.
For more information, visit the #LightSARed website.
Despite the call for relief funding and over 5 000 applications from artists, only a small percentage of artists had received funding. Even with the multiple losses to the creative arts community, the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture released an official statement on 23 May 2020 warning artists and creatives of the fraudulent group The Campaign ZA. The Theatre and Events community remains steadfast and optimistic despite facing so many backtracks. In an effort to cater to their remaining staff and maintain premises, campaigns and patron donations have been encouraged to ensure some semblance of financial stability for the companies.
Despite numerous attempts at maintaining consumer interest and offering digital and other COVID-friendly services, businesses like The Fugard Theatre have had to close their doors, hoping to return for the earliest in the later half of 2021, writes founder and benefactor, Eric Abraham.
Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the South African lockdown will be moved to Alert level 1 following the decrease in active COVID-19 cases and an increase in the number of recoveries. However, how does this affect the Cape Town theatre and events community? What does Alert level 1 mean for this community?
The following list includes a brief summary of the Alert level 1 regulations:
The number of people in any venue must not exceed 50% of its normal capacity
A maximum limit of 250 people applies to indoor gatherings
Masks must be worn at all times and social distancing must be maintained
The curfew time will be from midnight to 4 am
The sale of alcohol at retail outlets is now permitted from Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 5 pm
Alcohol will be permitted for on-site consumption in licensed establishments with strict adherence to the curfew
Allowance of international travel, as long as travellers meet the requirements to ensure safety
Additional health measures to prevent an anticipated second wave of the virus
with the borders open for international travel from 1 October
The gathering may not exceed 50% of venue capacity, with a maximum limit of 250 indoors and 500 outdoors
Masks must be worn in public places and social distancing must be maintained
With the easing of restrictions and increasing freedoms, South Africans have a lot more to look forward to. Although the easing of restrictions offers considerably more freedom than the daunting Alert level 4, it is not enough for this community to revive itself and bring back its retrenched staff. Unfortunately, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will have a long-lasting financial effect on this community of artists. Regrettably, this may take up to months and even years before the community of artists are able to return to their 'normal' pre-COVID.
“The theatre is certainly a place for learning about the brevity of human glory: oh all those wonderful glittering absolutely vanished pantomime! Now I shall abjure magic and become a hermit: put myself in a situation where I can honestly say that I have nothing else to do but to learn to be good.” ― Iris Murdoch
Thank you for reading. Stay safe, and continue supporting our local businesses and artists.
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