Joburg Theatre together with the City of Joburg has called off the Festival of Lights following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on Monday, to enforce national lockdown level three restrictions.
The festival of enchanting collection of illuminated life-size animal characters, music, dance, Christmas carols, opera, food stalls, kiddies play areas, night markets now in its second year had already sold out until Sunday, January 3.
The festival strived to keep programming alive and bring entertainment to the people from the theatre, to the zoo equally so providing an opportunity of work for over 100 artists which included, young as well as professional artists.
All this was done with the Covid-19 restrictions compliance and safety measures in place.
Commenting on the decision to cancel the event, CEO of Joburg City Theatres, Ms Xoliswa Nduneni Ngema, says “While adhering to the Covid-19 legislation, now more than ever is a time of heightened danger in the face of a global pandemic.
“Out of patriotic duty to prioritise the safety and health of our staff members, performers and patrons, I urge us all to cooperate and follow the president's instructions so that we can overcome this unprecedented pandemic.
“We are looking forward to a healthy 2021, as we have opened bookings for upcoming productions.”
To keep patrons entertained at the comfort of their homes, Joburg Theatre will spread some joy and cheer by streaming the previous pantomime of Sleeping Beauty (2015) until the 31 December 2020.
The show will be streamed from 7pm to 9pm on the Joburg Theatre Facebook page courtesy of M-Net and the participating artists and creative teams.
Tickets for the more-spectacular-than-ever 2021 Cinderella pantomime starring Desmond Dube, Ben Voss and Bongi Mthombeni are now on sale through Joburg Theatre.
Joburg Theatre encourages patrons who have tickets for the cancelled performances to contact Webtickets online or by calling 0861 670 670 for refunds.
Patrons are welcome to consider donating (opting to not be refunded) to Joburg City Theatres the money spent on tickets.
The support will help the theatre to weather this storm and contribute to ensuring that when these critical times start to ease, Joburg City Theatres will be in a position to continue serving the community by bringing world-class performance art to South African stages, by providing employment for our affected actors and stage professionals of the future.