The true value of buying a ticket for an Artscape production

Marlene le Roux

Reflecting on 2024 gives me great satisfaction that at Artscape we really practice what we preach –  ensuring that the arts are thriving despite many challenges. Referencing the rave reviews of the highly-acclaimed Pieter Toerien Productions musical My Fair Lady in association with Cape Town Opera, and Cape Town City Ballet’s The Nutcracker from respected theatre critics and audiences alike, together with the jam-packed recent Summer Season programme which included indigenous Xhosa sounds in Malta: The Journey of the Heart,Asian qawwali in The Sufi Caravan and of course the foot-tapping, toe stomping Boogie Nights, among others, to sold out audiences, as well as Santa’s Sleigh Bell Safari, nd Zip Zap Circus’s A Piece of Us that brought so many visitors to our theatres, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the sheer magnitude of what it really takes to execute these world-class productions on our world-class stages.

The numbers for December 2024 to 12 January this year are already running at a staggering 80 000 patrons who have paid for a ticket to watch one or more of these amazing productions. Tickets to The Nutcracker Ballet were sold out within a week of opening night. The same can be said of My Fair Lady! The verdict is clear: Patrons are enjoying the arts and want more! What more could we ask for, one would think.

Whereas rave reviews and staggering attendance numbers are definitely music to our ears – a clear indication that we’ve attained the primary objective of the performing arts which is to entertain and inspire through high-class performances, costumes, lighting, sound, production sets and props on stage, etc – it is however of the utmost importance to know that there is an even higher value to be gained from a ticket purchased by patrons who come out to watch our shows: the value of job-creation and sustenance to a range of role-players who night after night ensure that your experience at Artscape is of the highest quality.

Providing pleasure and entertainment to hungry audiences for just one of the many productions we offer involves an integrated system of employees and specialists – from the executive cleaning services, catering services and bar tenders, contract workers, security guards, stage hands, set builders, dressers, wig makers, seamstresses, background crew, sound and lighting technicians, support crew, costume makers, project managers and front-of-house personnel to the artists, musicians, decision-makers, marketers, publicists and the executive team. Without these productions many of our contract workers will be without work.  It is a huge industry and our well-oiled machine at Artscape continues to create jobs for hundreds of people putting bread on the table, thereby maintaining a sustainable economic ecosystem that provides a huge economic injection in Cape Town and the surrounding areas, even during the past two months of downscaling for most of South Africa’s citizens.

With 80 000 young and old patrons crossing our doorstep since the start of the Festive Season for a spectacle of dance, music, adventure and more, your ticket is therefore not only paying for your pleasure during the 3 hours or more per night that you spend in our spaces but your much-needed contribution also plays a vital role in the economic system of the arts, a role that also requires broad and sustained support from government, the economic sector and the public. While most businesses and institutions were closed for well-deserved festive holidays, the arts at Artscape have kept the economic wheel turning, along with other essential services during the Festive Season. We have once again helped to put bread on the table, contributed toward human dignity, inclusivity, job creation and job satisfaction by producing the world-class productions we have been duly recognised for.

Productions for 2025 include among other:

  • The Grammy Award-wining  Dear Evan Hansen;
  • The Cape Town International Drum Festival
  • For the young ones the Emmy Award-wining Buey’s Big Play awats
  • More Grammy Award-winning fare in The voice & spirit of The Lion King – Lebo M live in concert;
  • The Nlovu Youth Choir;
  • The multimedia musical Vincent;
  • and David Kramer’s Orpheus McAdoo – musical.

Favourties will return too and including the drawcards:

  • The Artscape Humanity Women’s Festival;
  • Thee Youth Classical Concert;
  • Die Suidoosterfees;
  • and after a long hiatus, Verdi’s dramatic opera, Aida.

As a globally-recognised theatre well-known for its world-class productions we therefore do not regard these very successful productions as stand-alone events, but as interdependent occurrences with the above-mentioned teams, of which purchasing your ticket forms an integral part that paves the way for more jobs in this sector as well as continued satisfaction and pleasure for the patrons who are purchasing the tickets. It is therefore crucial that you invite family and friends to support the arts in big numbers by buying a ticket to our wide range of world-class productions on offer for 2025. This simple act alone has a huge impact and importance which you should remember and cherish: your role must not be underestimated in the greater scheme of things.

Furthermore, as a government institution, we are subject to strict audit regulations which our management team do not take lightly to ensure this cycle of job creation is sustained and protected. We are therefore extremely proud of the clean audit for the 2023/2024 financial year that we received from the Auditor General. We are committed to maintaining this standard in the future and remaining true to our country’s constitution which compels us to build the nation, promote human rights, inclusivity, justice and equality as well as mainstream accessibility for people with different disabilities through our world-class sound system for the hearing impaired, world-class carpet system for the visually impaired, and world-class productions on our world-class stages in collaboration with our trusted partners.

If you’ve bought a ticket or more this past Festive Season and planning to do so in the future, receive my heartfelt thanks as we highly value your very important contribution toward sustaining world-class entertainment, but more importantly, job creation.

Do visit our website www.artscape.co.za for more information on our upcoming productions, follow us on social media @artscapetheatre, or call Artscape Dial-a-Seat on 021 421 76 95.

Marlene le Roux

Artscape CE0

08 January 2025

Photos supplied by Artscape

Marlene le Roux with members of Lief en Leed from Mamre, and NGO for persons with disabilities, at the final dress rehearsal of My Fair Lady on 11 December 2024.

Members of Ubuntu Rural Women also attended the final dress rehearsal of My Fair Lady.

The Nutcracker Ballet was sold out within a week of opening night!

World class productions such as The Nutcracker Ballet require an integrated system of role players who all benefit from the jobs it create for their livelihood. Here are some of Artscape’s on- stage and off-stage staff with cast members of The Nutcracker Ballet which boasted sold-out performances over the Festive Season.