What does Heritage Day and the theatre have in common?
Heritage Day is a South African public holiday celebrated by millions of people all over the rainbow nation. People are encouraged to celebrate their different cultures and the diversity of their believes and traditions. This public holiday is celebrated on the 24th of September each year. Heritage Day is an important nation-building tool and an especially exciting way of reaching out to young South Africans, to encourage national pride.
Culture and its heritage reflect and shape values, beliefs, and aspirations, thereby defining a people's national identity. It is important to preserve our cultural heritage because it keeps our integrity as a people.
Just like we celebrate Heritage Day to preserve our cultural heritage, the theatre does the same. The theatre broadcasts our heritage and culture on a life stage. South Africa has a vibrant theatrical scene offering everything from indigenous drama, music, dance, cabaret and satire to West End and Broadway hits, classical opera and ballet.
The main purpose of the theatre is to bring joy to people. Theatre helps us to see a different perspective from our own, promotes us to give power to truth, to take risks and to advocate for new and diverse voices. For many, theatre has become a tradition. Theatre performances demonstrate to us the love, the strength and the determination it takes to accomplish goals in our own lives.
The theatre influences the way we think and feel about our own lives and encourages us to take a hard look at ourselves, our values, our traditions and our behaviour. Experiencing culture in the theatre is a reminder of where we came from or what our beliefs sometimes even help us reflect on our values.
But most importantly, the theatre brings people together. Spending times with loved ones and friends at the theatre breaks us away from the life outside we experience daily like stress and hard circumstances. There is no better experience at the theatre than experiencing a vibrant theatrical show surrounded by friends and family. Whether you like life artists, jazz, classical opera or drama, the theatre is a magical place where we an take a break on life and just experience the wonderful talent our country, South Africa has to offer.
The Encore Theatre, Encore Complex, is a state-of-the-art Conference Centre and Theatre equipped for all your Live on-stage Events, Training Facilities, Private Meeting Venues as well as Conference Venues.
Happy Heritage Day from all of us at Encore Complex.