Potential Sneddon disaster handled well

AS AN “OUTSIDER” who has had the pleasure of performing in Durban over the last 25 years, I take this opportunity to thank all of the people who responded so well to the extraordinary events of last weekend.

On Friday night at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, rioting students held nearly 200 people hostage for two hours during a performance of our show, Common and Class.

What could have been a disaster was handled in a truly Durbanite spirit.

The professional behaviour of the Elizabeth Sneddon staff helped diffuse a potentially dangerous situation so that no one was harmed. The audience were calm, co-operative and patient. The students did no damage to any property and kept their promise to not harm anyone.

The Durban arts community responded immediately and, within 12 hours, were able to organise six different performances at three different venues, which means touring to Durban remains a viable option in the future, and that patrons who booked for the cancelled performances, while the situation normalises at the university, can attend these replacement performances.

Thank you Durban – you’ll be seeing more of us in the future.

This week’s performances are at Kloof Harvest, Westville Boys and Hilton College. IAN VON MEMERTY Entertainer