South Africa

Iconic South African theatre made R22 million profit in a year

Bianke Neethling • 11 March 2025

The Market Theatre is one of South Africa’s most iconic theatres and one of the few cultural centres in the country that has managed to turn a profit in recent years.

The Market Theatre was founded in Johannesburg in 1976 by Mannie Manim and the late Barney Simon. It was constructed out of Johannesburg’s Indian Fruit Market, which was built in 1913.

Since then, the theatre has become internationally renowned as South Africa’s ‘Theatre of the Struggle’.

This is because The Market Theatre challenged South Africa’s Apartheid regime, “armed with little more than the conviction that culture can change society”.

The theatre’s important role in the struggle against Apartheid was acknowledged in 1995 when it received the American Jujamcyn Award.

This award honours resident theatre organisations that have made an outstanding contribution to developing creative talent for the theatre.

“In providing a voice to the voiceless, the Market Theatre did not forego artistic excellence, but rather, made a point of it,” the Department of Sport, Art and Culture (DSAC) explained.

“Its 21 international and 300 South African theatre awards bear eloquent testimony to the courage and artistic quality of its work.”

Over the past three decades, The Market Theatre Foundation has evolved into a cultural complex for theatre, music, dance, photography, education and training, and allied arts.

It remains at the forefront of South African theatre and photography, actively encouraging new works that continue to reach international stages.

The Market Theatre is renowned for staging brilliant anti-apartheid plays that have included Woza Albert, Asinamali, Bopha, Sophiatown, You Strike the Woman You Strike a Rock, Born in the RSA, and Black Dog – Inj’emnyama.

It has also staged the premieres of many of Athol Fugard’s award-winning plays.

The Foundation was declared a cultural institution in 2005 and consists of the Market Theatre, Market Laboratory and the Market Photo Workshop.

These three organisations are responsible for staging productions, theatre training and photography training, respectively.

In addition to its historic significance, The Market Theatre Foundation is one of the very few cultural agencies of the DSAC operating profitably.

Financial performance

While The Market Theatre’s finances have not been smooth sailing, the organisation has made a profit (surplus) in three out of the past five financial years.

Its latest results for the 2023/24 financial year show that the organisation made a profit of R21.84 million.

The Market Theatre reported deficits in the 2022/23 and 2019/20 financial years, but over the past five financial years, the organisation has made a total surplus of R37.59 million.

The theatre’s balance sheet is also healthy, with the organisation having reported positive total net assets for the past five years.

In addition, it has achieved financially unqualified audit outcomes over the five-year period.

A financially unqualified audit opinion means that an auditor found an entity’s financial statements to be fairly presented in all material respects.

It indicates that the financial records are accurate, complete, and free from material misstatements.

This is the best possible audit outcome, showing The Market Theatre’s strong financial reporting and compliance.

In its latest annual report for the 2023/24 financial year, The Market Theatre said it achieved an overall performance of 88% for the financial year under review, meaning it reached 88% of its performance targets.

While this equates to a 9% regression from the previous year, the organisation explained that this was due to financial pressures.

It cited a combination of external financial pressures, such as being unable to attract the required funding to deliver on some of its programming, and internal financial pressures, such as the delay in procuring necessary equipment due to limited finances.

Regardless of this, The Market Theatre made an impressive profit (surplus) this financial year, which can be seen in the graph below.