With the proverbial curtain having fallen on this year’s season of The Maynardville Open Air Theatre Festival, VR Theatrical producers Jaco van Rensburg and Wessel Odendaal have assured patrons of the open-air theatre experience that it is back to stay.
Following a three-year hiatus and rumours that the festival may not return to Maynardville Park in Wynberg, Van Rensburg shares that the first post-Covid-19,independently presented festival, was a roaring success.
“Thanks to the Wynberg community who actively promoted the event among their friends and families, spurred on by the excellence that Cape Town’s most prestigious performing arts institutions had on offer. We are very pleased that this tradition will continue,” says Van Rensburg.
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For some years now, the festival has been under the custodianship of the Artscape Theatre. However, following the negative financial impact of the pandemic and lockdown, Artscape was forced to withdraw its funding for the project.
In stepped the two independent producers.
The result: a seven-week line-up featuring performances by The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, Cape Town Opera, Cape Town City Ballet, and of course, “Shakespeare in the park”.
This year’s play was A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Starting with A Midsummer Night’s Dream (by Mendelssohn) orchestral programme by The Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra on Thursday 19 February, the festival closed with SummerSnow performed by Cape Town Ballet on Sunday 5 March.
Van Rensburg says there was a sense of relief on closing night.
“Putting this festival together was a mammoth task and a very steep learning curve for us, but there was also a sense of pride and celebration not only for us personally but for how the theatrical community has risen from the ashes and tackled all the challenges with gusto and a ‘can-do’ attitude.”
He explains that, generally, a festival of this size takes up to eight months to plan.
“We did not have the luxury of time and despite all the challenges, our production partners were wonderfully organised and assisted us at breakneck speed to put together an excellent festival – all in good spirit.”
Having presented blockbuster Broadway plays and musicals, and commissioned and developed original, new theatrical productions, Van Rensburg and Odendaal are well-versed in the challenges that come with working in traditional theatre spaces. But Van Rensburg says working in an outdoor environment is an entirely different kettle of fish.
“The most obvious factor that is not within our control is the weather. While the weather was balmy and beautiful for 99% of the festival, we had to cancel two performances due to rain. This adds pressure not only on the financial side due to lost income (we have to pay for security, sound and lighting rental, health and safety officers, and paramedics, regardless of whether a performance takes place or not), but also on the crew who has to work extra hard to protect all the electrical equipment from the rain.”
With the park being a public space, around-the-clock security to ensure the safety of equipment, performers and crew was another unique production requirement.
“We also had to go through an extensive application process with the City of Cape Town to make sure that the event adheres to all the health and safety regulations and that the event is well run and managed.”
He says there is no detail too small to let slip.
“From ensuring that we are wheelchair-ready, to checking that there is sufficient toilet paper in the bathrooms, mitigating the risks of load shedding to ensuring that the box-office printer has enough toner - you have to think of everyone’s needs and better yet, anticipate them.”
An added drawcard to this year’s festival was the newly introduced evening food market, provided by Open Air Collective. From 17:00 in the public area of the park, locals and patrons alike could purchase and enjoy food and beverages in the park from a range of food trucks. But because of the food market, it was decided that bring-your-own picnics weren’t allowed inside the theatre area anymore. The breaking of this tradition caused some dissatisfaction among long-time festival goers.
Van Rensburg says overall, the food experience was a huge hit with families, especially with moms who did not have time to shop or prepare food. But, he says, they also received requests from patrons who wanted to bring their picnics.
“We will definitely take this into consideration for next year and see how we can best combine the different options to cater for the majority of patrons, but overall everyone had a great time and we intend on keeping the vibrant pre-show event as part of next year’s festival.”
Looking at the long term, Van Rensburg says they would like to ensure the sustainability of the festival.
“We have a clear vision for how to achieve this. With the support of the City of Cape Town and other production partners and sponsors this should be possible. We also look forward to exploring ways of working with local government to ensure that the physical infrastructure, such as dressing room and storage facilities and power supply demands, is in good condition to support the festival for years to come.”
As to next year’s festival line-up, Van Rensburg says they have a couple of aces up their sleeve.
“But you’ll have to wait to see what we have in store… It is all very exciting indeed.”
- To see what else VR Theatrical has in the pipeline, visit www.vrtheatrical.com
