All roads lead to the Warehouse

Since its inception in 1989, the Warehouse Theatre has become a household name in the entertainment industry. The founder, Ernst Herma, did a fantastic job of entertaining old and young with live music from Wednesdays to Saturdays. Most of the older audience members will remember the then house band 'Impactus Four', who rocked the Warehouse Theatre whenever they went on stage. But it was also international artists who loved visiting Windhoek because of the reception by the Windhoek audiences.

Fast forward to 2012 and the Warehouse Theatre was bought by Mike Ott, adding fresh air to the premises by turning the old “El Cubano” (which used to be the offices of Wasserfall Architects) into the Boiler Room for daily local live performances. This was an excellent idea, as local musicians were sorely in need of a platform to showcase their talents. Since then, week after week, Tuesdays to Saturdays, the Boiler Room is full of appreciative audiences who enjoy live music. Karaoke Nights were added in 2016 on Tuesdays and many talents have since been discovered, while the brand-new Boiler Room house band, Mashura, has rocked the Boiler Room every single Friday and Saturday since the beginning of 2017. The Boiler Room is a platform for live music bands only and because of the intimate setting, bands need to be able to play two 45 minute sets with no backing tracks. It is this requirement that sets a certain standard for local musicians, who are required to pass an audition first before being invited to perform at the Boiler Room.

The 'normal' setup would be having the stage next to the main entrance, but for large events, the stage is moved to in front of the dressing room door, which by now is jokingly referred to as the biggest dressing room in Africa, called the Cellar of Rock. Be it a stand-up comedy show by Free Your Mind Entertainment, Ras Sheehama's 50th Birthday Bash or even the 2017 Namrock Festival, the venue still creates an extraordinary vibe that can simply not be reproduced. Germany's jazz musician Wolfgang Haffner, who performed at the Warehouse Theatre at the beginning of October 2017, loved the venue so much, that he's already booked his spot in the 2018 calendar.

The year 2017 saw more theatre and cabaret productions, such as the beloved Elzabe Zietsman in Dis kouekos, skat!, as well as Tobie Cronje. These shows were done in a huge leap of faith and showed the Warehouse Theatre management that audiences definitely still love true theatre. Regular shows at the Warehouse Theatre are the bi-monthly Song Night, and the monthly Free Your Mind stand-up comedy shows as well as the bi-monthly Spoken Word.

In 2016, the Warehouse Theatre opened up The Loft, a much-loved venue for pre- and after show drinks. The Loft boasts a Pizza Happy Hour from 16:00 to 18:00 on a daily basis and is a very popular venue for after-work sundowners. While it is a chilled and relaxed atmosphere during the week, weekends light up The Loft with events, mostly DJs playing the latest. Regular events at The Loft include Beat Street, In Mitte and the Extra Party, which draw crowds of all ages – a feat that the management is very proud of.

The Loft is a bit of an enigma to a lot of Windhoekers, but once they've been, they become staunch regulars. Situated directly above the Boiler Room, it is the place to be if you want to meet the musicians or actors after the show in the Warehouse Theatre! It is the heart and soul of Windhoek's live entertainment and the team of the Warehouse Theatre and the regulars will always welcome you in their family.



Staff Reporter