Roodepoort Civic Theatre

The Roodepoort Civic Theatre is the original name of a publicly funded theatre in the city of Roodepoort, situated in the Civic Centre in Florida Park, Roodepoort.

In some cases referred to as the Roodepoort City Theatre, it was later traded as the Pro Musica Theatre (or Promusica Theatre) after the production company, and in 2014 became known simply as the Roodepoort Theatre.

History and management

It opened on 14 February 1981 with Weiss Doubell as the first director of the theatre (he retired in 2008). As a community facility, it is responsible for inter alia community theatre with professional and amateur drama, dance, choirs, singers and actors from Gauteng and the production of world class performances, and the development of new South African stage and musical talent.

The theatre operated as a 328 seater auditorium and an 80 seater box theatre. On the initiative of and under the direction of its first director, Weiss Doubell, the theatre became, apart from a receiving theatre, also a producing theatre with its own production units – the Pro Musica Orchestra, Pro Musica Opera Company and Pro Musica Opera Chorus. The name of the theatre itself was also later changed to the Pro Musica Theatre. Besides the operatic productions, the venue also engaged in a diverse range of genres, including music and musical theatre, comedy, and children’s theatre.

The venue itself was initially subsidised by the Roodepoort City Council (later the City of Johannesburg), but gradually sponsorships had to be found to help finance the theatrical and musical enterprises undertaken there, including projects such as audience development, and productions, to ensure sustainability.

In 2012 the City of Johannesburg, as part of its Institutional Review, resolved that Joburg Theatre and Pro Musica (the trade name for the Roodepoort City Theatre) be integrated into a single theatre management company to be known as Joburg City Theatres (JCT), and created the new Soweto Theatre. The effective date of the integration was 1 January 2013.

The theatre’s name was now changed to the Roodepoort Theatre, under the leadership of JCT’s Chief Executive Officer, Bernard Jay, with Xoliswa Nduneni Ngema taking over as CEO in July 2013.

Productions

Popular for symphonic music and opera, the well equipped theatre was also used for amateur and professional theatre productions. It did not have its own company, but hosted many companies over the years.

Productions have included:

In 1987: Hamlet (in Afrikaans), Die Koggelaar (Pieter Fourie).

In 1993 in collaboration with PACT:The Sound of Music.

In 2009: Mulan Junior,