Bernard Jay, CEO of the hugely successful Joburg Theatre, tells South Africa Magazine how its reputation was built and what makes it such a special venue.

By Jane Bordenave

Joburg Theatre is a world-class performance complex situated on top of Braamfontein hill in Johannesburg. Originally founded as the Johannesburg Civic Theatre in 1962, the building remains a landmark feature of South Africa’s largest city. There are a total of four auditoria, ranging in size from The Mandela, with 1069 seats, to space.com, with 108. It has also been home to the South African Ballet Theatre since 2003.

In 2000 the decision was taken to corporatize the operating company of the theatre, although the City of Johannesburg remains the only shareholder. It was at this time that theatre veteran Bernard Jay (pictured) was brought on board as CEO. Yorkshire-born Jay had previously worked in London as General Manager for West End producers Paul Elliott and Duncan C Weldon and then in New York producing off-Broadway shows and managing talent, before moving to South Africa in 1993. His talent and experience in world theatre have enabled Joburg Theatre, as the Civic Theatre became in 2009, to develop into a world-class touring facility.

Joburg Theatre is unique in many ways, not just in South Africa, but in the world, specifically when it comes to its technical capabilities. When the theatre was renovated in the late 1980s, the then City Council spent an enormous amount of money putting in place state-of-the-art stage mechanisms.“What this means,” says Jay, “is that in the main theatre – The Mandela – there are five stage lifts, allowing the entire stage to move up and down independently in five different ways. There are revolving sections that come down over the lift sections and this in particular is a very unusual and exciting feature in world theatre.” There are also side stages and a rear stage that are the same size as the main stage, giving producers great scope for staging their productions. It is facilities like these that have made Joburg Theatre such a prime destination for touring theatre companies and enabled it to host an original production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Ben Elton’s critically acclaimed musical ‘The Boys in the Photograph’ during the 2010 World Cup.

However, the theatre has been up against a double challenge recently – increased competition from rock concerts and also the effects of the recession. When the FIFA World Cup came to South Africa, it brought with it refurbishment of some old stadia and the construction of entirely new ones. According to Jay, these venues are now drawing internationally famous rock bands and pop artists for concerts and thus competing for the same kind of audience who might otherwise spend their money attending the theatre. This is compounded by the effects of the recession, which has decreased the amount of disposable income people have to spend, especially on potentially expensive evenings out. “Consequently, the theatre business as a whole in South Africa is having to play it very safe at the moment,” he says. “The audiences still love well known and classic musicals and people in South Africa also particularly like dance shows, so we are trying to stick with these types of shows. As it is already difficult to get audiences to purchase tickets, we can’t really experiment right now, so we need to stick with what is already well loved and accessible for the time being.”

The theatre has a number of ways to keep attracting audiences and managing revenue. “In the theatre business, there’s only really one countermeasure you can take in difficult times and that’s to be sure to give the public what they want to see,” Jay explains. “When you are open 52 weeks of the year like we are you cannot always have a hit show on, although you can have a number of great shows on your stages. Nevertheless, we do aim to have some hit shows in each year; and this July we have the hugely successful Broadway dance show Burn the Floor coming to Joburg Theatre. We are really positioning that as 2011’s big hit show in South Africa. Having a sell-out run on one show will then encourage people to come and see other shows that follow, knowing that our productions give great entertainment.” Joburg Theatre is also one of very few venues outside of Great Britain to hold an annual festive season pantomime, which is always well attended.

Joburg Theatre is unusual in that it is not just a performance venue – it is also a dining venue. “Our onsite restaurant is part of the News Café franchise and is incredibly successful in its own right – we can serve 500 meals a day and of 48 News Cafés across the country, Joburg Theatre’s News Café is one of the most popular,” says Jay. The restaurant is open from 7.00am daily and has created a very busy breakfast and lunch trade. While this is important as a revenue stream, it is also an important marketing tool. “I feel that if you can get people who wouldn’t normally attend the theatre at least into the building, you are already half way to getting them into the audience.”
With up to 14 on-site bars too, the catering facilities at the venue enable those going to see a show to make a whole night of it. “Audience members can come and have a meal before the performance and stay for a drink after, rather than just going out to the theatre for two hours and then leaving the building,” says Jay. “We encourage cast members to come down to the bar afterwards and mingle with the audience. It is things like this that help maintain a good vibe about the place.”

Jay also believes very much in the importance of corporate social responsibility and outreach programmes. “We have quite a lot of initiatives in this area and they’re quite varied. The Nelson Mandela auditorium is our bread and butter and has to produce shows with mass appeal. But we use our smaller venues a lot for community development, bringing in young actors, especially from the townships, which may not have had a chance to perform in a professional theatre yet. We give them an auditorium, a stage and the services of our staff that come with professional theatre – we give them a ‘first time’ opportunity.” Through the City of Johannesburg’s Community Development Sector, the theatre is also able to offer visits to schoolchildren from poorer areas that would not otherwise be able to afford a visit to the theatre.

Next year will be Joburg Theatre’s 50th Anniversary, and it’s going to be a big one. “We have big plans for August 27th 2012 – our half centenary,” says Jay, “The full details are yet to be announced, but there will be televised coverage. It is a big deal and, after all, this is show business – you have to celebrate!”

Image: Supplied by Joburg Theatre