Gathering for a cuppa and a slice of something nice saw special media guests being treated to an exclusive first-hand glimpse of the National Children’s Theatre’s line-up and plans for the year.
As they are celebrating their 30th milestone this year, the theatre will be given a bit of a ‘facelift’ where they will be creating a stronger social media presence on Facebook and Instagram as they plan to extend their reach via YouTube. “We want to use YouTube as an opportunity to showcase what National Children’s Theatre is up to and maybe create a platform for educational resources which can be distributed and accessed by different schools,” the artistic director Matthew Counihan said.
He said they plan to partner with online ticketing agencies as they were currently relying on people to call the theatre in order to get their tickets. “We just want to create greater accessibility for our tickets.”
According to Counihan, access to the theatre is vital as it currently provides complimentary seats to over 4 000 children per annum as well as 30 schools and NPOs. “Although it doesn’t come at a cost to those organisations, it does to us but we firmly believe in the necessity to engage the hearts and the minds of our younger audiences.
“This is pivotal in developing social consciousness and contributing to our performing arts ecosystem as a whole.”
What to expect from the theatre this year is the currently ongoing separate sessions of different play productions as they have partnered with the South African State Theatre to produce My Children, My Africa and Charlotte’s Web will be touring at primary schools.
“We are producing the world premiere of Mr Hare meets Mr Mandela which will take place in June and July in commemoration to Mandela’s birthday month,” Counihan added.
Also in attendance were parents along with their children who were treated to a free showcase of Duck for President which is aimed to enlighten children about the voting process.
Details: www.nationalchildrenstheatre.org.za
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