World premiere

World premiere refers to the first regular performance of an theatrical event of any kind, anywhere in the world.

However, this term is often misapplied in the case of South African theatrical productions, very often being used to refer to the first performance outside the country, instead of the first performance ever - inside or outside the country.

For example, to this day the Royal Court Theatre in London lists their 1974 production of Athol Fugard's Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act as the World premiere" of the play, despite the fact that the play had been commissioned by, and had its first run at, the Space Theatre in Cape Town in 1972, with Athol Fugard and Yvonne Bryceland in the leading roles.

While clearly a marketing strategy nowadays, this usage to a great extent derived from the circumstances prevalent in the colonial and Apartheid eras, and perhaps encompasses something of the so-called colonial "cultural cringe", an attitude whereby any artistic work only considered notable if it is recognized abroad.