Reps Theatre Maasdorp Ave / Sam Nujoma St, Harare, Zimbabwe

Latest Reps Newsletter - July 2006

All editions of the Reps Reporter:
January 2006 | March 2006 | May 2006 | July 2006 | October 2006 | December 2006 | January 2007 | April 2007 | May 2007 | August 2007 | September 2007 | November 2007 | January 2008 (1) | January 2008 (2) | April 2008 | July 2008 | September 2008 | October 2008 | December 2008 | February 2009 | March 2009 | April 2009 | August 2009 | October 2009 | November 2009 | January 2010 (1) | January 2010 (2) | March 2010 | May 2010 | June 2010 | September 2010 | December 2010 | February 2011 | March 2011 | May 2011 | June 2011 | July 2011 | September 2011 | October 2011 | November 2011 | December 2011 | January 2012 | February 2012 | April 2012 | May 2012 | June 2012 | July 2012 | August 2012 | September 2012 | October 2012 | November 2012 | January 2013 | February 2013 | March 2013 | April 2013 | May 2013 | June 2013 | July-August 2013 | September 2013 | October 2013 | March 2014

As the winter months come to an end, it is hoped more people will be going out at night, especially to see the many productions planned for the Reps Main Stage and Theatre Upstairs in coming months. Some of these are Reps productions while others are outside hire events - but all of them look like being of great interest to theatre-lovers. Reps Theatre is very much alive despite all the problems we face in this country and members can be proud of their society and all it is doing for them and the community at large.

Membership

As some of you will recall, ExCo has been encouraging current members to find new members and this has been an extremely successful exercise, with many new members being welcomed on board in the past few months. The lucky draw for a sponsor of a new member has been extended to include August, so try to get as many new members signed up by August 31 and you could be in the running for a super holiday prize. While all new members are warmly welcomed a special welcome will be given to new members who want to be active in the theatre, either on stage or behind the scenes. Membership forms are available from the office or the bar, and a new version is about to be loaded onto the Reps website (www.reps.co.zw, hosted for us by MWEB Zimbabwe) for easy downloading. Don't forget to check the level of subscriptions, which are changed each quarter.

Website and e-mail

MWEB Zimbabwe has very kindly and generously given Reps Theatre a complimentary e-mail and Internet a service, hence the new address reps@mweb.co.zw. Thanks to Nikki Lear, Kirstie Exton and their team for this wonderful support. They have also renewed their hosting of our website for free (the website has been run by Mark Hyde, with assistance now offered from Odette Lind) and they have helped spruce up the wine bar in the foyer - so they are proving to be very good friends of Reps and its members. Thanks!

Then & Now

This fundraiser for the refurbishment project was organised at short notice but it attracted a large and talented cast for four wonderful near-full performances that raised nearly $300 million. Thank you to all those involved as cast and crew for their input, which was appreciated by all those who saw it and by the whole Reps family for the fundraising it engendered. Thanks also to the Girl Guides/Boy Scouts for adding to the funds with a percentage of their refreshment service takings.

Theatre Upstairs

Running until Saturday July 29 is the highly entertaining The Attic, The Pearls and Three Fine Girls, directed by and starring Jamie McLaren, Sarah Kilalea and Rita Billingsley. This is a dark comedy with some serious touches and has been acclaimed by many people who saw it in its opening week. Performances are at 7pm each night Tuesday through to Saturday and booking is available at The Spotlight as usual. Highly recommended, especially for the performances of these excellent young actress-directors. Tickets are $500 000 each.

Are you ready for some Sister Action?

Debbie Fleming has a sure-fire hit on her hands with the stunning comedy with music, Sister Action, opening on August 3 and running until August 19. It has a large cast of newcomers and well-known talent and stars Chiyedza Nyahuye, who was named best supporting actress for 2005 for her performance in Godspell. This comedy is inspired by the popular Whoopi Goldberg movie will have audiences in stitches and it has a great musical selection to keep toes tapping throughout. Booking for this show is now open at The Spotlight and prices are being kept low to stimulate good audience numbers - $700 000 per person or $350 000 for pensioners. Block bookings get a 10 percent discount. A preview night on Wednesday August 2 will have tickets at $250 000. A huge effort is going into making this a great show, so please do all you can to spread the word and get the news out about the show and its very competitive prices. Debbie has decided to put on a series of matinee performances to offer those people who do not like going out at night - August 5, 6, 12 and 13. It is hoped some corporates will bring out the old folks from local homes to see the show at these performances, just like Toyota Zimbabwe, Nestle Zimbabwe, Corporate Angle, Avis Rent-a-car and others did for Then & Now.

Elvis will not be leaving the building

Having been busy with Do U Wanna Rock, Then & Now and A Streetcar Named Desire, David Smith could have been forgiven for taking a break, but this popular and talented man is now taking on the dual role of director and star for his own production, Elvis Lives, scheduled for a run on Main Stage from August 26 to September 9. This will be a tribute to the King of Rock 'n' Roll and will also star Alex Fairlie, Rowland Amm and Josh Ansley. With such Reps stalwarts as Winston Rudman, Di Meiring, Dave Fleming and many others involved this will be a good show to welcome in the warm weather. Booking opens at The Spotlight on August 1, with tickets at $1 million each (pensioners at matinees $250 000).

Some corporates have already booked their own nights, so early booking is recommended.

Movies' magic lies in their music

Dean Raybould will become one of the youngest people to direct his own show with a short-run private hire in September. His show will be Magic Movie Moments, a musical revue featuring some of the best songs from some of the best movies - musicals and others! The show has been selected by the Association of Zimbabwean Travel Agents for their annual awards presentation and one of the nights of the run will be devoted entirely to the awards ceremony interspersed through the show and will be a special gala performance with no outside tickets available. The cast will include his colleagues in the boy band 5Star, as well as many other excellent singers and dancers. Booking will open at The Spotlight on August 1, with tickets at $1 million (pensioners $250 000). The show will run from Monday September 11 to Saturday September 16 (no evening performance that day, only a matinee, as that night is the rock down harare concert at Borrowdale Park race course).

What else?

Also coming up later in the year will be a Chipawo production in September/October, Mitzi Carruthers' Under The Big Top, National Ballet's Stars of Tomorrow and Theatre Upstairs' double-bill of The Last Tango in Little Grimley and The Last Panto in Little Grimley, as well as this year's panto - Beauty and The Beast, being master-written by Linda Hyde at the moment. All of these look set to bring us some great entertainment, so keep watching for news of dates, booking availability and ticket prices.

Backstage news

Stage director Dave Smeda will be running a workshop for stage managers and assistant stage managers very soon, aimed at enhancing the base of this highly important area of each production. If you are interested in attending, please contact the office to let the office know.

Repteens

Chris Charnley is continuing to work with about 15 enthusiastic youngster and they will be breaking for the August-September school holidays shortly. If you are a teenager or have a teenager in the house, get him or her or them involved, so that tomorrow's stars can be groomed today. At present there is no Preps activity because there is no-one to run this scene - but if you are willing and able, why not speak to Chris Charnley about it?

Foyer update

Great feedback is coming through about the new-look toilets - thanks to Sue Charnley for spearheading this overhaul. Money for the foyer refurbishment was used to make this happen and already people are saying how much better everything is for visitors and members alike. The fundraising for the carpet is continuing and it is hoped the foyer carpets will be purchased and laid soon. Next up will be the carpeting in the auditorium. Thank you to all those people who have donated so very generously to the project - about $1 billion has been raised to date.

Wine-tasting

The wine-tasting in the foyer was a success, with almost 40 members present for a wine-tasting hosted by Bunny Landon and a cheese-tasting hosted by Gary Davidson of The Cheeseman. More events like this will be planned for the future, partly to raise money for the refurbishment and partly to give members some wonderful networking and social opportunities within the Reps environment. Social events organiser Kathy Keen and Marketing and Publicity Committee chairman Stan Higgins are working on ideas for coming months, but if you have any great ideas let them know (Kathy is reached through kathkeen@mweb.co.zw and Stan at aquarius@mweb.co.zw).

Crockery and cutlery

Reps is looking for items of crockery and cutlery to cater for after show parties, so if anyone has anything to donate in this area, please let Lynn Buckingham in the Reps office know as soon as possible.

ExCo news

John Bonney has agreed to be co-opted to the Executive Committee, members of which for 2006/2007 also include Tim Garrard (Chairman), Chris Charnley (Vice Chairman), Gill West, Teri Grimmel, Sue Bolt and Stan Higgins. Each of these people can be contacted for your ideas, suggestions, complaints or other input of any kind.

Congrats

Well done to our sister organisation, the National Ballet of Zimbabwe, on their 50th anniversary, which was celebrated with their successful run of A Season of Dance. This show starred two South Africans, Andries Weidemann and Sarah King, and many of Zimbabwe's very own talented dancers, especially Natalie Bradbury, Matthias Julius and Petrina Malahias. Well done to Eve Stranix, Rod Broodryk, June Cloete and everyone else who made this show a success and a credit to National Ballet and host venue Reps Theatre.

Until next time . keep well and keep supporting Reps in any and every way you can.

Tim Garrard, Chairman

Back to top