Facilities and venues for hire at State Theatre

The South African State Theatre, the largest theatre complex on the African continent, boasts six theatres and world class facilities that are available for leasing to the public. Whether you are an artist seeking to hold a live performance, or an organisation hosting a corporate function/meeting, the SAST is savvy to cater bespoke service fitted to every client’s needs.

The facilities available for hire include among others, a distinct choice across theatres, rehearsal rooms, restaurants, offices, conference & functions space, public parking and boardrooms. SAST also offers facilities for leisure such as restaurants & bars. With Covid 19 posing a challenge to many regarding space to allow for maximum social distancing, the State Theatre will accommodate you in a big enough venue to avoid any possible physical contact, well ventilated, and all Covid 19 regulations complied with right from the entrance to our highly secured, huge parking, with two different entrances in different streets.

Theatre Venues for Hire

Sibusiso Khwinana Theatre

The Sibusiso Khwinana Theatre serves as a milestone for the theatre as it reinvents itself as Africa’s leading performing arts facility. The theatre has hosted a variety of showcases including dance, drama, poetry and small-scale musicals. In recent years, the auditorium has been dedicated to staging developmental and new works mostly presented by young people.

Capacity: 120 Seats

Stage Dimensions: 13 metres wide by 10 metres deep.

The Arena Theatre

The third largest auditorium in the complex, Arena Theatre can double as the main opera rehearsal hall. Fully equipped computerized lighting and sound control rooms form part of these highly sophisticated theatre. The auditorium has hosted several productions like Xova and Angola Camp13 which were nominated for the Naledi Theatre Awards, it can also be used for workshops and small concerts like CD launches.

Capacity: 288 Seats

Stage Dimensions: The Arena has an acting area of 12.20 metres wide by 11 metres deep, with a height of about five metres. As the width of the space is 20 metres from wall to wall, the area is adjustable to suit the production.

Rendezvous Theatre

Both the theatre and bar area of the Rendezvous Theatre have been revamped. The new modern interior makes the venue excellent for hosting cabarets, jazz recitals, small and one-man shows. It is also perfect for private functions and presentations. It is situated off the car park on the upper level.

Capacity: 268 Seats

Stage Dimensions: 10 metres wide by 4.5 metres deep.

The Drama Theatre

The Drama Theatre is an excellent venue for smaller drama productions. Designed with an orchestra pit that can accommodate up to 40 musicians, also makes it suitable for opera or musical productions. It has three foyer levels: a ground floor foyer with a Café/Restaurant; a main foyer with refreshment centres and a balcony mezzanine. The Drama Theatre has hosted international productions such as The Russian Ballet, original South African works in the calibre of the Naledi Award winning Marikana the Musical as well as the musical talent search, Idols SA.

Capacity: 640 Seats (continental-style seating).

Stage Dimensions: The main stage measures 24.9 by 16.5 metres and the two side stages measure 17.9 x 16 metres. The stage operating tower has 45 battens and two main light bridges. The orchestra pit can accommodate up to 40 musicians. The Drama stage is equipped with four lifts, each 3 x 13.5 metres wide, are ‘double level’, moving together as a unit or in opposite directions. The lifts can be stepped to accommodate an orchestra and are also equipped with trap doors.

The Opera Theatre

The Opera House is the largest of six theatres, seating 1,300 patrons on three levels including a balcony. It has an orchestra pit that can be adjusted to accommodate up to 60 musicians. The seating has been arranged to provide excellent views of the stage from any vantage point. Continental style seating has been adopted, offering two entrance/ exit doors for every four rows of seats to facilitate ease of entrance and exit of patrons. The Opera theatre is ideal for big concerts, Musicals and its wide view allows any production to plot cameras for recording. The auditorium had the honour of hosting the Late Winnie Mandela’s live memorial service, the Naledi Awards winning Freedom the Musical and an international production called Fela and the Kalakuta queens.

Capacity: 1300 Seats

Stage Dimensions: This theatre has a cross-shaped stage, the main stage being 25.6 x 21.5 metres in size. The side stages, OP, prompt and backstage are each almost the same size as the main stage. Five stage lifts, each 3 x 15 metres in size, as well as a revolving stage with an inner platform form part of these stages. Lighting, sound and stage mechanics are controlled by computer and the theatre has a lighting saturation grid and follow spots.

Inclusive as part of the leasing of the theatres, the client gets a Technical Stage Manager, Sound Operator, Lighting Operator, Mechanist (Drama & Opera theatre only), Stage Crew Members, Front of House, Social Media advertisement – 3x Instagram, Facebook and Twitter post and website advertisement until the date of the event.

We have boardrooms, conferences and functions venues available for bookings and rentals. SAST also offers daily, weekly & monthly public parking space. There are restaurants and bars for hire as well as for leisure especially after work and meetings in the inner City of Tshwane. More facilities, venues and space available for leasing can be found on the SAST’s website www.statetheatre.co.za. For a tour through the building and enquiries, please contact Andries Baloyi on 012 392 4000 or by e-mail at Andries@statetheatre.co.za Brochure link https://bit.ly/3fRlAoh