I went to Joburg Theatre and here's why you should too

When I think about things to do in Joburg, going to the theatre isn't usually the first thing that comes to mind. So when I ended up at Joburg Theatre for An Ode to Motown, I was curious to see what I'd been missing.

If you’re in your 20s, your weekend plans might be centred around dinner with friends, drinks at a new spot that you haven’t tried yet, a concert, a market or finding a new place to hang out. Theatre can sometimes feel like something for “old people”, or something you remember from school when seeing a play meant climbing onto a bus with your classmates and spending the day on an organised outing.

But after spending an evening at Joburg Theatre, I started wondering why more young people aren’t putting it on the list when they’re deciding what to do in Joburg. And no, you don’t need to be a regular theatre patron to enjoy a night there.

If you think Joburg Theatre is only about plays, think again

If you’ve lived in Joburg for a while, you’ve probably heard of Joburg Theatre, but you might not know just how long it has been part of the city. The venue opened as Johannesburg’s Civic Theatre in 1962 on Braamfontein hill and was relaunched as Joburg Theatre in 2009. Today, it’s a City of Joburg municipal entity with four stages and a programme covering musical theatre, dance, music, comedy, traditional drama and other live performances.

The biggest of the four is the Nelson Mandela Theatre, with 1 069 seats, while the Lesedi Theatre, Peoples Theatre and space.com offer smaller spaces for children’s shows, experimental theatre and other productions. For you as an audience member, that means there’s an array of artistic expressions to choose from. The different spaces host everything from big productions and touring shows to student performances, family theatre and smaller productions with a more experimental edge.

The variety is probably one of the first things worth knowing if you’ve never been to Joburg Theatre before. You might hear “theatre” and immediately picture a serious three-hour production, but take a look at the programme and you’ll quickly realise that there’s a much wider mix of things happening here.

You might be surprised by how much there is to choose from

Looking at the current programme, you’ll find everything from African storytelling and ballet to comedy and live music on the different stages.

Imagine Africa – Our Stories Brought to Life is on from Tuesday 15 September to Sunday 4 October, combining stories created by South African storyteller Dr Gcina Mhlophe with music, costumes, props and plenty of audience participation.

Music fans can catch Caiphus Semenya – Songbook from Friday 18 September to Sunday 20 September, while comedy takes over on Thursday 24 September with Khanyisa Bunu’s Life Is Not Fur. The two productions offer very different nights out, from a celebration of Semenya’s music and life to Bunu’s humorous take on relationships and navigating adulthood.

And it doesn’t stop there. Carmen: The Ballet runs from Friday 25 September to Sunday 4 October as part of Joburg Ballet’s 25th Anniversary Season, while Janice Honeyman’s Alice in Wonderland follows from Saturday 31 October to Thursday 24 December for the festive season. The point is, you don’t have to be into one particular kind of theatre. There’s ballet, comedy, music and more to choose from, so it really comes down to finding something that catches your eye.

Who says a night at the theatre has to feel so serious?

This is probably the biggest shift in thinking I’d encourage young people to make. Going to the theatre doesn’t have to feel like a serious cultural experience that you need to prepare yourself for.

I also loved being able to record parts of the performance, because apparently one night of Motown wasn’t enough for me. I could listen to the songs on repeat on the way home and then carry on singing them in my room as if the show hadn’t ended

If you’re going with friends, why not make an evening of it? STAGES, the recently renovated restaurant at Joburg Theatre, gives you somewhere to sit down for a meal or drink before the show and stay a little longer afterwards. It makes the theatre feel less like somewhere you simply go to watch a performance and more like a place where you can spend the evening.

And yes, the theatre can work for a date night too. Stages Restaurant inside the Joburg Theatre offers a Date Night experience on select Wednesdays, with live entertainment, a three-course set menu and a bottle of wine.

But the restaurant is open daily and remains open for at least two hours after each show, transforming into a space to debrief and reflect while digging into its menu options. When there are no shows being staged, Stages opens from Mondays to Saturdays.

Theatre gives you something you can’t get from streaming

An Ode to Motown reminded me that there’s a big difference between watching a performance on screen and witnessing it live. While the final production has now finished its run, it motivated me to look out for upcoming shows at the theatre. Sitting in the auditorium and watching the performers do their thing in front of a live audience is an experience that streaming simply cannot replicate.

Most of us are used to entertainment coming to us. There’s always a movie to stream, a concert to watch online or another performance waiting on social media, all without having to leave the house. Theatre challenges you to do the opposite. You actually have to get dressed, make your way there, find your seat and be present. Ultimately, being part of a live audience makes the experience feel completely different.

It’s time we stopped overlooking theatre!

Theatre probably isn’t going to become everyone’s favourite way to spend a Friday night, and that’s fine. But as they say, don’t mock it until you’ve tried it. After watching An Ode to Motown at Joburg Theatre, I realised that you don’t need any special knowledge of theatre to sit down, soak in the performance and have the time of your life.

You can simply find a show that looks interesting and go. That’s probably where I’d start. There’s no need to overthink. Pick something that catches your eye, get your friends together and see what happens.

Joburg Theatre is at 163 Civic Boulevard, Braamfontein. Evening and weekend parking is available at the corner of Simmonds and Stiemens Streets, while the theatre recommends using its main entrance for Uber and other pick-ups and drop-offs.

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