The Cape Town entertainment community is beginning to once again feel the impact of the Coronavirus just as a sense of hope was beginning to settle in among artists and producers.
The second wave is starting to take effect, cases are rising and the big decisions have been made.
One major blow is the Baxter, which will be closing it doors again on 19 December, just after opening recently.
This means that Marc Lottering’s show Lottering on Lockdown and Yusuf Daniels’ Living Coloured play that is produced by the Baxter and directed by Loukmaan Adams will both have their runs ending much sooner than anticipated.
I fully understand the concern because the cases are starting to rise drastically and no one wants to be responsible for a “super spreader” event.
This would in any case mean that the theatre and actors would all have to go into quarantine, so a shorter run makes a lot of sense.
I do feel that after eight months of the pandemic, we are better equipped to survive should we move back to a shutdown.
We have a better understanding of live-streaming and the technology that is at our disposal.
In my opinion, for now all shows should be pre-recorded, open air, or on stage without an audience, and just streamed out.
Keep the audience small with just family and close friends to help the artists get an interactive feel, and then share it online.
I experienced being an audience member at a show when I attended the Madeegha Anders production This One’s for the Children at the new Kaprinos in Salt River.
The thought of going was scary and I think had it been today, perhaps I would not have gone, just because of the spike in cases we are currently experiencing.
It was awesome but for the first time, I felt what the audience was feeling having to keep my mask on for the entire show, and it felt weird looking at everyone around me with masks on as well, even when we were eating, is net lig die mask.
In the end, we cheered for the kids and the music and the band and we even danced a bit and almost forgot it was a pandemic.
The song selection was fantastic; a lot of District Six the Musical songs and the artists are new and exciting youngsters who are being moulded by the legendary Madeegha.
I especially enjoyed the performance of Ashur Petersen and a new youngster called Michael who has an angelic voice similar to that of Michael Jackson.
It was a great show and everyone should support the initiative when it plays on Quicket on 12 of December. Gaan kry julle tickets.
Also go and get your tickets for the free shows of Living Coloured and Lottering on Lockdown before the 19th to watch it live.
In my opinion, we do need an audience because they inspire us with their laughter and cheers to be even better than what we are. However, this is not the time for live runs, but more live-stream runs.
So Madeegha’s format, a small audience just for effect and pre-recording the show is the way to go.
One thing I have to commend my fellow artists and producers on is their respect for human life.
They are struggling, many people are out there losing their work, being unable to perform and provide because of the pandemic, yet they choose to accept the course that it is taking and wait instead of forcing their wors and perhaps burning their fingers or causing many deaths.
I said to someone if you survived the virus until now, why would you want to place yourself in a risky situation when the vaccine is just around the corner?
This is most probably a common feeling in the arts community.
To the audiences, keep watching the live stream shows because this way we stay safe while still supporting our local artists.