Pieter Toerien (1942-) [1] is an impressario, producer and theatre owner.

Being edited (November 2023)

Biography

Born in Cape Town in 1942.

Career

1960s

Toerien's career began while he was still at school, when he presented puppet shows to schools in his home city, Cape Town. From there hewent on to become one of South Africa’s most active producers of stage productions, certainly one of the most powerful and successful private theatre impressario's of the period after 1980.

His first venture after school when he, aged 17, introduced the concept of bio-vaudeville – persuading cinema managements to have live entertainment before the feature film. Under the mentorship of Britain's theatre agent Herbert de Leon and in partnership with Basil Rubin, he set about bringing British variety artists such as Alma Cogan and Dickie Valentine brought to South Africa, and eventually also adding Russ Conway (1964), Peter Nero (1966), Shelly Berman, Cyd Charisse, Tony Martin, Françoise Hardy and Maurice Chevalier (1967) to his list of luminaries.

His greatest coup came at the age of 20, when he signed Marlene Dietrich for appearances in the country. He sat on the street outside her apartment until curiosity compelled her to invite him in. He signed her to tour in 1965 and again in 1966. They remained friends until her death in 1992 aged 91.

In 1966 he tentatively shifted his focus to the dramatic stage, often bringing entire productions from the West End to South Africa, cast, sets and costumes. Funding all his own productions he famously claimed that he produced farce and comedy to subsidize less commercial theatre. At the same time he continued with the successful business formula of signing overseas box-office attractions he brought names like Hermione Gingold from New York for Noel Coward’s Fallen Angels, Joan Fontaine for Fredrick Knott’s thriller Dial M for Murder. Other names included Barbara Windsor, June Whitfield and Sir Michael Redgrave.

1970s

With rigid censorship laws in South Africa in the 70s and 80s, plays were continually under scrutiny by the law. For instance, Ronald Millar's Abelard and Heloise called for a nude scene and actress Heather Lloyd-Jones consented to the demands of the script. Audience curiosity filled houses to capacity. The censorship board were given a dim silhouette of Miss Lloyd-Jones and the play was allowed to continue. Toerien did not escape more aggressive raids when productions were closed down, but he went on to challenge the system. Thus, at a time when the word "gay" was still taboo in tyhe country, Toerien and Shirley Firth presented The Other Side of the Swamp.

1980s

Writers Ben Travis, Ray Clooney and Alan Eichbourne became audience favourites for the Toerien theatres; as did Agatha Christie. From the early 80s, British comedy actor and director Rex Garner became associated with many Toerien box office successes, such as Ray Cooney's Out of Order and It Runs in the Family, Michael Pertwee's Birds of Paradise and Robin Hawdon's Don't Dress for Dinner.

The works of such eminent British writers as Noel Coward, Tom Stoppard, Simon Gray, and Peter Shaffer have all been mounted in Toerien’s theatres.

In the 1980s Toerien brought Sir Cameron Macintosh's Tomfoolery to South Africa. This association has resulted in South Africa receiving many of the phenomenal successes of Macintosh's London musical theatre, the South Africn company often deployed in the Southern Hemisphere.

1990s and 2000s

Prominent productions include Les Miserables, a co-production with Sir Cameron Mackintosh and Tsogo Sun; Cats which toured Scandinavia, the Far East and Beirut; The Phantom of the Opera which toured the Far East, ending in Hong Kong. These were followed by Sleeping Beauty on Ice, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Jesus Christ Superstar which was originally banned in South Africa as blasphemous after it opened on Broadway in 1971.

He always claimed that he did not need state subsidy, he subsidised himself. This was largely done by doing many popular potboilers (drawing room comedies and murder mysteries), and this enabled him to do more literary West End and Broadway successes, such as Equus and M. Butterfly.

In an interview in 2004 he considered Equus, Amadeus, Nunsense, Defending the Caveman, Cats to be his most successful productions up to then.

In 2006 Tim Plewman ended an eight year run of Rob Becker's Defending the Caveman for Toerien, setting a South African record at the time, having given 1500 performances of this one man show.

Involvement in the Performing Arts industry

Toerien has not limited himself to theatre management. During the period of South Africa’s transition he worked extensively with WESTAG Task Group on the Performing Arts sub-committee. In this area of civic responsibility he also gave of his expertise on the CAPAB board to assist them in their adjustment to become Artscape. He was also on the board of the National Arts Council and the Western Cape Cultural Commission, and is a patron of the STAND Foundation.

Theatres and venues

Since the 1970s, Toerien created, managed and owned a number of theatre and entertainment venues over the years.

The Intimate Theatre, Johannesburg

Opened in partnership with Shirley Firth.

For more information, see The Intimate Theatre.

The Barnato, Johannesburg

Opened by Shirley Firth and Pieter Toerien in 1976.

For more information, see The Barnato.

The Andre Huguenet Theatre, Johannesburg

Opened by Pieter Toerien in 1977.

For more information, see Andre Huguenet Theatre.

The Alhambra Theatre, Johannesburg

In 1980 he saved an old theatre from demolition and opened The Alahambra in Braamfontein, Johannesburg with Peter Shaffer's Amadeus. Refurbishing the old building he added two more theatres to the complex, the Leonard Rayne Theatre, opened 18th July 1983, (renamed The Rex Garner Theatre in 1994) and The Richard Haines Theatre.

For more information, see Andre Huguenet Theatre, The Rex Garner Theatre and The Richard Haines Theatre.

Theatre on the Bay, Cape Town

In 1988 he purchased the derelict Alvin Cinema in Camps Bay, Cape Town and, with designer Jan Corewyn transformed it with a post modern façade draped with a sculptured curtain. He named it Theatre on the Bay. It opened in mid-December 1988 with a production of Nunsense.

For more information, see Theatre on the Bay.

Montecasino Theatre, Johannebsurg

With the decentralization of Johannesburg’s CBD Toerien moved his Alhambra operation to the north of Johannesburg opening Pieter Toerien's Montecasino Theatre complex. Here he runs 2 theatres, one with 320 seats and a studio theatre with 160 seats.

2007 saw the staging of The Lion King in a splendid new 1900 seater lyric theatre being especially built by Tsogo Sun at Montecasino in Johannesburg. It would be the tenth largest in the world.

For more information, see Montecasino Theatre.

Productions

Most of Toerien's productions have been done either in his own name, or that of his company Pieter Toerien Productions, though he has also participated in a number of partnerships over the years, including with the Performing Arts Councils. These collaborations have included: