The State Theatre in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

is the largest theatre complex in Africa. It was known until 1999 as the Pretoria State Theatre.

History

The theatre was built on the old Market Square in Pretoria for use by TRUK (Transvaal Performing Arts Council). It opened in 1981 with performances such as

N. P. van Wyk Louw Nicolaas Petrus van Wyk Louw (11 June 1906 in Sutherland, Cape Colony – 18 June 1970 in Johannesburg), almost universally known as N.P. van Wyk Louw, was an Afrikaans-language poet, playwright and scholar. He was the older brother of Afrikaan ...

's ''Germanicus'', Jochem van Bruggen's ''Ampie'', and

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

's '' After the Fall''. The first words on the new stage were spoken by veteran actor

Siegfried Mynhardt Siegfried Mynhardt (5 March 1906 – 28 March 1996) was a South African actor. Personal life Mynhardt was born in Johannesburg and lived in a Wynberg army camp, where his father was a padre. He had three children with his wife, Jocelyn. Caree ...

. In 1999, the

National Arts Council of South Africa The National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC) is the official arts council for the Republic of South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south ...

made a five-year agreement with

Spoornet Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people ...

to name the theatre the Spoornet State Theater, through which it not only supported the theatre financially but also promoted the arts and key performers while exposing passengers to their work. In 2000, the province of

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

decided to close the State Theatre over financial mismanagement. It reopened on April 4, 2001.

Building

Seating 2,700, the complex covers 72,143 m². At first, there were four theatres: the Opera, Drama, Arena, and Studio venues. There were also several other rooms such as the Transvalia room, restaurant, cafeteria, where shows were occasionally presented. Today, there are six theatres, with the Momentum and Rendezvous adding to the total.

References

External links

* Buildings and structures in Pretoria Culture of the City of Tshwane Theatres in South Africa Tourist attractions in Pretoria {{theatre-struct-stub