The role of arts festivals in developing and promoting street theatre in South Africa

Abstract

Street theatre as a performance genre is a relatively new phenomenon in South Africa. The main platform has been arts festivals, although there have been occasional performances at other venues. By their very nature the arts festivals initially drew mostly art lovers who spent a number of days at the festival, attending several productions. The main motivation was intellectual and cultural enrichment, with leisure activities an added part of the experience. Increasingly, arts festivals have been drawing occasional visitors who come primarily to experience the festival spirit and for leisure activities: spending time visiting merchandise stalls, enjoying the food and drink, and attending one or two shows, usually popular music performances, These visitors would fall into the category that McNamara (1987, p. 2) described as a ‘broad, relatively “unsophisticated” audience’ and would be a target audience for street theatre entertainment. Street theatre has by no means yet reached its full potential in this country, but the contribution of arts festivals has gone a long way towards creating an awareness of the genre.