GRAAFF-REINET — The AGM of the John Rupert Theatre was held last Thursday, during which chairperson Rose Wright gave a comprehensive report on the events of the past year.

This was her first year in the position, and it certainly seems to have been a busy one!

A total of 21 movies were shown during the year. During the earlier part of December, they showed two children’s movies which turned out to be very popular and worthwhile. The way of selecting movies has been simplified; they are now ordered in batches so that there can be several months lined up at a time. The change to showing more modern movies seems to be paying off positively. They also ran a series of the Bridget Jones’ movies and showed them in close succession which worked well.

There were seven live shows, some straight rentals, and others on a 70/30 door split. Although the theatre has had a good year, there have been some major expenses and as a result, the theatre ran at a loss for the year. 

They have had to commit to an extra monthly expense of R150 for security, which is necessary. The security company also charge a fee to respond when the alarm goes off. 

The licence to show movies has been changed, and now it has to be renewed each year at the cost of R1500 payable to the Film and Publication Board. For the first time since movies were first shown at the Theatre there has been an increase in price, from R20 to R25 per person -after nine years that should not be unreasonable.

The committee made a decision to really put an enormous amount of effort for the Brandenburg Trio concert. They made the dress code formal, which people seemed to enjoy. Although it was not a sell-out, ticket sales were far better than what they have been in the past.

Andrew Young also returned to the theatre, and thanks to supporters who had been to his show a few years ago and were thus able to encourage others, the attendance was far better than his first audience of only 22 people.

In the past, members of the committee often hosted performers in their homes or managed to find a free bed for them in a local guesthouse. Unfortunately, this has no longer been possible, and performers now have to source their own accommodation.

The committee is in the process of improving the marketing strategy. There is now a dedicated cell phone for WhatsApp messages so that they can notify and remind patrons about events at the theatre.

The committee is a team of very dedicated, loyal and supportive members, without whom there simply would not be a Theatre. These members seem to find themselves dedicating more and more time to the theatre, and in light of this, members decided to start changing the current structure, taking on a more business-like way of running the theatre. There have been a few special meetings over and above the usual monthly committee meetings to discuss and plan this, with a great deal of input from Johan Dames.

There were two resignations on our committee during the year, Lee-Anne Jones and Charlene Prinsloo, and Helen O’Halloran and Wilmari Spence have joined to take up the vacant positions. They have both come on board very willingly and have put a great deal of effort into being part of the committee.

Lorana Rubidge is the secretary, and apart from the administrative roll she so willingly takes, she is also always happy to help with opening the theatre for various visitors and cleaners.

Finances are kept in perfect order at the hand of Laura Knott-Craig, who has been controlling them for over 20 years. She also has other JRT hats that she wears as well, and the committee are determined to try to alleviate some of her load in the coming year. “Laura is very fond of the theatre and such genuine dedication for the love of our theatre is a fabulous example for all to see. However, she spends far too much time working for the theatre and we need to change this before we wear her out! If it wasn’t for her I think that the theatre may have fizzled into non-existence some years ago” said Wright. Once the new strategy is in place she will be freed to going back to being “just” the treasurer.

Maintenance is Johan Dames’ portfolio, but he certainly does plenty more than that too. The committee members are appreciative of his legal background and expertise and value the countless hours he has put into drawing up organograms and painstakingly sifting through contracts and agreements and rewriting them. Maintenance, of course, is an on-going task and Dames has done a sterling job in this area. The theatre has been cleaned from top to bottom, the curtains washed and rehung, the paneling has been revarnished, and the theatre is looking very good indeed.

Everyone on this committee works hard for the Theatre and dedicates a great deal of their time and energy to it, with much of the work being done behind the scenes going unnoticed. Wright took the opportunity to thank each of the committee members for all the time and dedication that they pour into the John Rupert Theatre. 

"Graaff-Reinet is privileged to have a beautiful theatre. The community needs to realise this and encourage each other to support it by going to see the shows and teaching younger generations to actively participate too” concluded Wright.

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