Theatre: The Fugard at Home, Covid-19

Posted by Robyn Cohen | Jun 1, 2020 | Africa Global, Performance, Screen, Stage, Tech

Today, June 1, 2020, it is curtain up for The Fugard Theatre’s innovative digital platform. The beautiful theatre, located in District Six in Cape Town has been shuttered due to Covid-19. No one knows when theatre complexes may be fully operational so for now, it is keeping theatre alive by streaming shows direct to homes. This is fabulous news. The easy to navigate website is a welcome addition to lockdown. See https://thefugard.com/

This year, 2020, marked the tenth anniversary of the theatre which was established by producer Eric Abraham.. A bumper programme had been announced for the anniversary year. Sadly, that programme had to be cancelled. The Fugard is however rolling out The Performer Series, which is scheduled to be filmed at the theatre. Solo shows will be filmed on the Fugard’s main stage– under strict hygiene conditions- and will be edited and broadcast on The Fugard at Home platform. It is envisaged that the line-up will include multi-medium work theatre, dance, music and other forms of live performance. After launch, it is hoped a new title will be released each week.

In addition to streaming of shows, there is a virtual tour of the theatre on the website. A fabulous component of The Fugard at Home is a portal providing updated info on shows that are live streaming globally- often for a limited time. It is easy to miss out. This portal will make it easier to track what is on offer.

Interviews and events will be hosted on The Fugard at Home platform. It is a new platform in development, so watch this space.

Archived theatre shows from The Fugard- June 1, 2020 – to be updated

“Master Harold” … and the Boys – this superb production of an iconic Athol Fugard play, was staged in the Studio Theatre at The Fugard in February/March 2020 and was filmed live. It stars Desmond Dube, Kai Luke Brummer and Siya Mayola. See review on TheCapeRobyn https://thecaperobyn.co.za/theatre-cape-town-master-harold-and-the-boys-fugard-2020/

The Road to Mecca- this engrossing staging of Athol Fugard’s play, performed by Sandra Prinsloo, Marius Weyers, and Emily Child was staged in 2018 in the main theatre. It was filmed live in the theatre.

Cost to watch archived shows

There is no charge to watch streamed shows from the Fugard archives but donations are encouraged and appreciated. In order to stream the shows, you need to sign up to become a Friend of The Fugard. There is currently no charge to do this. Once you register to watch a stream, you will received a “stream token which is valid for 48 hours before it expires”. The token may be used three times and then it expires. For example, if you close the browser and go back in, that means you will have used two tokens. You can pause the stream and resume play. One e-mail user may be registered per stream. .

Moffie – the film

Watch this acclaimed film directed by Oliver Hermanus by buying a ticket at R150 – valid for 24-hours. You can watch once during the 24 hour link period. It is important to know how this link operates and what is required in terms of internet and recommended devices. Streaming details https://www.moffiefilm.com/stream

Review on TheCapeRobyn https://thecaperobyn.co.za/film-review-moffie-directed-by-oliver-hermanus/

Portal of theatre which is streaming globally

The Fugard Theatre is providing link details for shows which are streaming free during the pandemic – locally and globally. Many shows are available free for a limited time frame, so it is great to have the information collated on the website. Check out https://thefugard.com/#info-hub

The Performer Series

This series will feature solo works filmed for The Fugard at Home platform, in situ at the theatre. We will keep you posted.

Donate link To support The Fugard Theatre, donate at www.thefugard.com/donate

Image credit: The Fugard Theatre foyer. Image supplied.

About The Author

Robyn Cohen

Editor of @TheCapeRobyn – arts, destination (travel! yes, love it), style. Cape Town, South Africa, African continent; focus on artists from Africa who are active around the globe. TheCapeRobyn – aka Robyn Y Cohen -has over twenty years of experience in print media as an arts and lifestyle writer. She relishes the global audience of the exciting digital media world and is loving sharing stories from Cape Town, the African continent and elsewhere, with readers of TheCapeRobyn magazine: Arts. Destinations. Style. TheCapeRobyn’s reach includes – stage, film, music, food, drink, travel, books, mind, body and soul – the creative, innovative, engaging, and exciting. [Note: There are many Robyn Cohens - just as there are numerous John Smiths. This Robyn Cohen has a middle name beginning with a Y. Let’s go with TheCapeRobyn). TheCapeRobyn motto: Go while you can. Cohen has a MA in fine art from The University of Witwatersrand. Her little book, Nearly Finished- a guide to home renovation, was published in 2006, by Double Storey (ex-imprint of Juta). Nearly Finished was based on a series of humorous articles, the Story of My House, which she was commissioned to write for the Cape Times, documenting the renovation of the family’s home. The book was translated into Afrikaans as Amper Klaar - ‘n gids vir huisvernuwing. Robyn Y Cohen is a member of SAFREA- The South African Freelancers Association http://www.safrea.co.za/.

About Robyn – Editor

TheCapeRobyn – aka Robyn Y Cohen (there are many Robyn Cohens – this is the one with Y as her middle name and not the infamous one) has over twenty years of experience in print media as an arts and lifestyle writer. She relishes the global audience of the exciting digital media world and is loving sharing stories from Cape Town and the African continent with readers: Arts, destinations, style, books, film – the creative, innovative, engaging, and exciting.