GEORGE NEWS - The Market Community Theatre (MCT) presents Songlines South Africa, a show that represents the treasure trove of performing art styles in our country’s cultures, over two weekends - on Friday and Saturday, 18 and 19 July, and on Friday and Saturday, 25 and 26 July.
The production is a fundraiser event for the theatre, which is celebrating its second birthday this year.
“Songlines is more than just a show. It’s a statement - about who we are, and how we can come together. It’s where the youth of different cultures meet not in the classroom, not on the streets, but on stage, sharing energy, rhythm and stories.
"At MCT, we believe in creating spaces where this magic happens, because social cohesion is everyone’s responsibility, and the arts offer a powerful and joyful way to make it real,” says Stead.
The show times are as follows:
VIP Opening Night:
Friday 18 July | Arrival: 18:00 | Show: 19:00
Saturday Show:
19 July | 14:00 Matinée
Friday Show:
25 July | 18:00 Show
Saturday Show:
26 July | 14:00 Matinée
Tickets for the VIP evening on Friday 18 July are R120, which includes snacks and wine. The VIP evening is for the MCT’s sponsors and is open to friends of the theatre. Tickets for the other shows cost R100 for adults and R50 for children.
They are available from Heather Stead, the MCT’s founder and manager, on 072 369 3304.
“We believe the arts have the power to unite, inspire and empower individuals, creating a ripple effect that positively impacts our entire community.”
The public is invited to support Songlines, a wonderful celebration of the music and dance of South African youth. They will take the audience on a walk through all the music that influences our youth.
The MCT’s vision is to create a thriving space in which individuals from all walks of life can come together to explore and showcase their artistic abilities.
“Theatre has always been a powerful medium for storytelling, connecting people from different walks of life and providing a platform for creative expression. We believe in the transformative power of theatre, especially in our South African context, and we are dedicated to providing affordable opportunities for aspiring artists, particularly those facing economic challenges, to celebrate our cultural roots and ignite imaginations,” says Stead.
The entire cast of Finding Fame, the Market Community Theatre's first unity collaborative show in 2023.
Greater sense of inclusion needed
Stead says there is a need to build a greater sense of inclusion, justice and dignity through a theatre based very centrally in the George CBD.
This theatre has a 169-year history. It started as an Anglican church and school for George’s coloured community (1855 - 1950), but was evicted due to apartheid. It was converted to a theatre by the Rederykers (Afrikaans Dramatic Society) (1969 - 2004), rented out as a venue to all by the George Municipality (2004 - 2019) and damaged and lived in by homeless people (2020 - 2022).
Starting in 2022, the current theatre team started investing into reclaiming and revitalising the Market Community Theatre with the help of many small businesses and private donors in George.
"Over the past two years we have presented two Environmental Drama School Festivals, 40-50 shows, hosted schools and choirs, overseas and national artists, local and unknown artists and put on our own shows so that the youth we work with have an opportunity to perform on a stage. We invite youth and learners from our drama clubs to attend as many shows as they can."
The theatre has had free shows and they keep their prices reasonable. They also started an outreach project in Themablethu running drama clubs in five schools and holiday programmes, and have reached 4 000 children touring with their educational shows that have visited 19 schools this year, from Touwsranten to Thembalethu to Pacaltsdorp, George Voorbereiding, Holy Cross Primary and Kretzenshoop Primary.
"We have no government funding at the moment and are struggling to make enough income to keep going. When we leased the building from the municipality it was in a terrible condition.
"We have had the public helping us and donations from businesses from 2022 to now and have been so grateful for the public support of an incredible R300 000 invested in this beautiful heritage building over the past three years," says Stead.
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