Children's Theatre Productions

Children's Theatre Productions was a Johannesburg-based theatre production company run by Joyce Levinsohn and Jill Girard (from 1976 to 1990).

History

Established by Joyce Levinsohn in 1976. Throughout a lucrative partnership in the late 1970s and 1980s, Levinsohn and fellow director Jill Girard put Johannesburg’s children’s theatre on the map. Whilst the Company was run along almost identical lines to a professional adult theatre company, Children's Theatre Productions afforded young, emerging actors and actresses the opportunity to perform alongside seasoned professionals.

Given that the Company received no state funding, Joyce was thrust in the roles of financial director, theatrical co-director and drama / voice coach. In between knocking on the doors of potential sponsors from both the private and business sectors, she relentlessly hounded officials at various government departments to obtain permission for youngsters from marginalized communities to attend the weekly theatre workshop classes that she ran. As donors and civil servants soon discovered, Joyce's tenacity leaves little room for refusal. With monies received from generous benefactors, the Company was able to tour a host of underprivileged schools and provide children from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds with first time exposure to stimulating, interactive, high quality theatrical 'edutainment.'

Each holiday season saw the staging of popular children's classics. Many of these productions were musicals featuring a host of wild and wonderful characters dressed in elaborate costumes, who performed against a backdrop of imaginatively designed sets. Based on Joyce's belief that wherever there are children, there is a spark of life that makes children's theatre a riveting adventure, the Company built its reputation on staging productions that developed the imaginations, creativity and communication skills of actors and audiences alike.

Following the Soweto Riots of June 1976, the Government temporarily enforced the closure of black schools. Joyce was in the middle of staging a production at the time, which featured black children from her theatre workshops, who played alongside white professional actors. In her determination to uphold the theatrical maxim, 'the show must go on', she took the youngsters into her home, where they remained for the duration of the production.

In 1987, at a time when there was little exposure of indigenous folklore and mysticism, Joyce conceived the idea for an interactive, eco-musical to promote the message of conservation. Entitled Songs and Tales under African Skies, the production combined the rich African tradition of oral story telling with vibrant song and indigenous dance. With most of the stories calling for additional players from the audience, this interactive masterpiece was hailed as a 'tour de force for children of all ages'. In 1990, the production went global and enthralled audiences in London, West Germany and Italy. It also captivated millions of young Americans when it was filmed for the US education TV series, Channel One. It also played to captive audiences in Mauritius during its 1996 tour of the island.

After a long partnership, Levinsohn and Girard parted ways in 1990, both going on to pursue new ventures: Girard's Peoples Theatre and Levinsohn's Johannesburg Youth Theatre.

Productions

1979: Pinocchio

1980: The Tales of Hans Christian Andersen

1983: Tales of Beatrix Potter

1984: Jack and the Beanstalk

1985: Winnie-the-Pooh, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Songs and Tales from Africa

1986: Tales of Beatrix Potter , The Wizard of Oz, Aladdin, Story Theatre, Just So Stories, Nativity Play

1987: Pinocchio, Oliver Twist, Story Theatre, Songs and Tales from Africa

1988: Noddy

Sources

Tucker, 1997

Greyvenstein, Walter 1988. The history and development of children's theatre in English in South Africa. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Johannesburg: Rand Afrikaans University.

https://mg.co.za/article/1996-07-26-toil-and-trouble-in-fairyland/

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