Johannesburg’s Market Theatre
The Johannesburg Market Theatre was founded in 1976 by Mannie Manim and Barney Simon in the Newtown neighborhood. The theatre utilized the abandoned Old Indian Fruit Market (Or Newtown Market) building, originally built in 1913. In 2014 the theatre was named for John Kani, a famous South African actor. Their first production was Anton Chekhov's The Seagull.
During South African apartheid, the work done at the Market Theatre challenged the government with their cutting edge work. Each production attempted to effect change through both content and artistic quality, never sacrificing one for the other. To this day it is known as the "Theatre of the Struggle". They describe their history as being "intertwined with the cultural, social and political struggle for freedom in South Africa."
Mission Statement:
The Market’s artistic policy for a post-apartheid South Africa centres on encouraging new dramatic writing. These new works will offer ways to help South Africans understand, interpret and thrive in the second decade of the country’s new democratic life. The Market must continue to be a theatre that is engaged, challenging and entertaining. The staff remains committed to maintaining the highest possible artistic standards as it searches out exemplary new writing, and the best new, young directors, designers and lighting designers to achieve this mission. The Market Theatre is determined to build on its reputation, even as it faces the new challenges of the 21st Century.
http://markettheatre.co.za/history/
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