Pretorians have a real passion for jazz music. The African and Jazz nights organised by the Tshwane Music Industry Co-op are a series of concerts that take place every Friday at the Rendezvous State Theatre. While most venues in Johannesburg would not dare having jazz performances on Friday nights, especially not on their own account, the State Theatre has taken a bold step to celebrate some of South Africa's best talent.
Business is about making a profit. If the State Theatre is to become a for-profit company, they too would make sure they offer cheap alcohol to Pretorians and have a radio hip hop or house music DJ play till 5am in the morning on Fridays and Saturdays. They could sell 100 times more alcohol than they would if they had a jazz band or classical ensemble performing.
Suddenly, if you are walking around the State Theatre building as a tourist, it would not be difficult finding the party. It is disappointing to note that many South African people standing by the State Theatre building do not care or appreciate what the theatre is offering if it is not a big porn party!
As a respectable establishment that anchors our cultural memory, the State Theatre is one of the only venues in Gauteng that take a bold stance and influence cultural tastes. Guess what? They have built an audience for the African Jazz Nights and one can smell the potential for growth a mile away. It's the kind of smell that can help get rid of certain kinds of pollution in the city. When businesses say, we don't care if the moral fibre gets depleted in the name of massive profits, the State Theatre says, there's more to life than just drawing crowds and potential customers to your establishment.
SA FM, Classic FM and Radio 2000 have audiences that would appreciate the productions staged at the State Theatre. To what extent do they endorse venues that showcase live music? Budgets for culture decrease by the year. Does this mean that theaters should have a business approach to the arts in order to matter to the majority or at least 70% of the surrounding community? It's a give and take situation. Who is giving? Who cares to take? Who cares to influence others to take?
