Monica Hilton-Barber Lifestyle
Nightlife on the Lowveld has improved dramatically with the opening of a theatre outside White River on the Hazyview Road.
The rugged beauty of the area has attracted people moving east from the cities, seeking a lower crime rate and less hurried pace. But the district previously offered little in the way of trendy cultural events or vibrant entertainment.
We’re talking about an area where most residents can’t pick up SABC3 or e.tv without a satellite; where highlights include Sonya Herholdt, Patricia Lewis, Nathaniel, Anton Goosen and Koos Kombuis performing to capacity crowds in the Civic Centre. Forget rave culture, here we have the occasional sokkie-jol or disco.
The options, which have included videos, an evening at the sports bar or supper at a name-brand steak house, started to change with the opening of the Riverside Mall between Nelspruit and White River. This includes a further choice of four cinemas, two coffee shops and a couple more franchise restaurants.
But now nightlife on the Lowveld has an added alternative. Instead of locals travelling to Pretoria or Johannesburg for a night of theatrical entertainment, top artists are coming east with a whole spectrum of quality shows from music to comedy and serious drama.
The theatre, owned by Steve Ryan, opened a few months ago and is packed to capacity for every show. Ryan got the idea when he stopped off in Plettenberg Bay last year and attended the small theatre there owned by Louis and Sybil Coetzee-Moller.
“I was looking for a new business and thought it would really work here in the Lowveld,” he said. “It seemed like a fun thing a gay, white man like myself could do with his time.”
Patrons bring along their own picnic baskets and wine to enjoy a meal and show around heavy wooden tables in the warm atmosphere of an unique American-style barn. Predictably, it is called The Barnyard.
So far, The Barnyard has hosted Duck Chowles and his eight-piece band in Roll Over Beethoven, the acapella women’s group Cutt Glass, the more classical Bravissimo and the all-new hit show Radio Sixty Something.
Though the sing-along musicals have even the blue-rinse set dancing on the tables and chairs, the most popular have included Greig Coetzee’s White Men with Weapons.
Coming up soon are Kaolin Thompson and Naked, Andrew Buckland in The Water Juggler and a 40-strong Latvian choir singing folk arrangements.
While like-minded friends and colleagues tentatively supported Ryan’s initial plans, none was prepared for how popular the theatre would actually be. Every show has been booked out weeks in advance and Ryan has had to turn down hundreds of people, since he can only seat 280.
It’s not just the hip folk who are supporting the venue – the established farming and business communities have been some of The Barnyard’s most ardent supporters. They come in for the evening from as far afield as Waterval-Boven and Barberton, Graskop, Sabie, Komatipoort, Malelane and Lydenburg.
Groups book tables, and couples and singles prefer to sit upstairs on the balcony. This is the best vantage point from which to assess which table has the finest picnic feast and best selection of wines. Then you know who to join at interval.