This article first appeared in The Mail & Guardian

24th August 2007

Enforced segregation in South Africa’s cities may have fallen away, but lifestyle habits die hard. Cultural activity in our urban areas remains geographically divided, and the theatre-going public in particular exercises a curious form of brand loyalty. In Cape Town, where inertia to change is always substantial, different theatres cater for different audiences; still, things aren’t as bad as they used to be, especially when one considers the old opposition between the Baxter Theatre and Artscape (erstwhile the Nico Malan).

“Old opposition” is slightly misleading - both were built in the 1970s - but there was a time when attendance at either of them signified a political allegiance. The Nico, as a state-sponsored institution, implemented strict racial exclusion in accordance with apartheid policy; the Baxter remained “open”, following the specifications of William Baxter, whose bequest had enabled the building of the complex (his wish for a non-racial theatre establishment was described by Malan himself as “a great tragedy”).

Baxter died in 1960, but there were numerous delays in choosing an appropriate site, and construction was only completed in 1977. By that time, censorship laws and the demolition of various venues had taken a heavy toll on performing arts across the country. The Market Theatre had opened in Johannesburg the previous year, but in Cape Town the Space Theatre was fighting a lonely battle on behalf of experimental and transgressive playwrights, actors and directors. The Baxter offered a welcome new independent platform.

The early productions featured young actors who have since become veterans of the stage and screen in South Africa and worldwide: Sean Taylor and Fiona Ramsay (who returned to the Baxter once again this year to star in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), Richard E Grant, Grethe Fox, Paul Slabolepszy. Sandra Prinsloo was also around in those days; she, too, has been involved in one of the Baxter’s 30th anniversary productions, playing the part of Sister Aloysius Beauvier in John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt. This production ran to mixed critical acclaim, but that was nothing compared to the vituperation she and John Kani faced when, performing Strindberg’s Miss Julie in 1987, they engaged in a much-publicised inter-racial kiss onstage - death threats and hate mail ensued.

A more tangible threat to the Baxter came in the form of the Censor Board. Slabolepszy relates how his script for Joburg Sis! (1978) was scrutinised and bartered over: “The conversation went something like this - okay, you can have two f**ks if you cut the scene where the policeman takes a bribe from a black person.”

It would be disingenuous, however, to imagine that the Baxter was continually able to subvert apartheid restrictions. One of the contributors to a publication commemorating the theatre’s first ten years offers some insight: “The Baxter occasionally attracts a spurt of black theatre-goers, and has staged some excellent works that show white South Africans how their neighbours live behind the apartheid fences ... but for the rest, it is perceived mainly as a venue for the white English-speaking middle classes, who can afford to pay for the tickets ... Cape Town needs a regular practice of bussing in township audiences to the theatre.”

Twenty years later, the demographics of Baxter audiences are still affected by the twin constraints of geography and economics. Nevertheless, located at the foot of the UCT campus in Rondebosch, the Baxter does manage to straddle the paler southern suburbs and the more racially diverse area between Mowbray and Cape Town’s city bowl. Initiatives such as the Ikhwezi Festival and other community theatre projects have certainly widened its appeal.

Moreover, the Baxter has successfully established a firm support base within the coloured community. Some of its most well-received productions, from David Kramer and Taliep Pietersen’s famous District Six - The Musical to more recent shows such as Vatmaar, Ghoema and Suip!, have addressed issues particular to coloured people in the Western Cape.

In one sense, the obvious analogue to the Baxter is the Market. Lara Foot Newton, who “grew up at the Market” and is currently the Baxter’s Resident Director, agrees that “the basic principals are similar”, especially with Mannie Manim (who founded the Market along with Barney Simon) now running the Baxter. Yet there are significant differences, not least of which are financial: Foot Newton notes that “the Baxter is not funded, whereas the Market and the State Theatre are, so we’re constantly feeling like the poor cousin!”

This has, however, driven the Baxter to be more inventive in terms of bringing in audiences through diverse ‘entertainment offerings’. It has, of course, always been a centre for musical performance (from opera and classical to jazz and folk) and dance (ballet, modern and physical theatre). But it also hosts comedy festivals and popular music concerts, and day-time events such as life skills courses for teenagers and adult learning classes - a smorgasbord likely to whet Capetonian appetites for the next 30 years.