State Theatre, South Africa
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The State Theatre in
Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
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
PACT Pact, The Pact or PACT may refer to: Entertainment * The Pact (novel), ''The Pact'' (novel), by Jodi Picoult, 1998 * The Pact (2002 film), ''The Pact'' (2002 film), adaptation of Picoult's ''The Pact (novel)#Film adaptation, The Pact'' * The Pac ...
(Performing Arts Council of Transvaal). It opened in 1981 with performances such as N. P. van Wyk Louw'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, Gauteng, Wynberg army camp, where his father was a padre. He had three children with his wife ...
. In 1999, the National Arts Council of South Africa 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 ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...
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 A cafeteria, called canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether in a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a scho ...
, where shows were occasionally presented. Today, there are six theatres, with the Momentum and Rendezvous adding to the total.


References


External links

* {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Pretoria Culture of the City of Tshwane Theatres in South Africa Tourist attractions in Pretoria Opera houses in South Africa World Choir Games venue