Motives of attendees at Rain's live music theatre production: A tribute to the Beatles

Theatre is a popular pastime in South Africa. However, little is known about the visitors attending these productions and what motivates them to attend. The purpose of this research is to determine the motives of attendees at a music theatre production of RAIN – A Tribute to the Beatles in South Africa, and, based on these motives, to identify and profile different market segments. A survey was conducted at the show (27-28 August and 4 September 2011) at the Teatro at Monte Casino, Johannesburg where 434 questionnaires were included in the analysis. The factor analysis identified four motives for attending the production: entertainment and artist affiliation, social interaction, group affiliation and unique experience. Based on these motives, the cluster analysis identified two clusters, namely Beatle maniacs and music lovers. The t-tests indicate that the clusters are homogeneous in terms of their socio-demographic profile and the main differences were behavioural. This research makes an important contribution to music and theatre literature and sheds valuable light on the profile of theatre attendees in South Africa