Montecasino theatre brand essence

Capturing the essence of theatre – its expressions of individuality, its ‘joie de vivre’, its abundant creativity, its disparate yet complementary elements of comedy and tragedy – while retaining the identity of theatre’s parent brand, was the challenge.

Constructed by Tsogo Sun at a cost of R100 million, this theatre will be located in the new outdoor Piazza at Montecasino, which continues the authentic Tuscan architectural theme of the original development. The brief by Tsogo Sun’s marketing director, Noëleen Bruton, was to give expression to the freedom of theatre, to reflect the multi-faceted nature of this unique theatre and to ensure that the icon of a modern new theatre for South Africa would stand out against the backdrop of ancient Tuscany in a busy outdoor Piazza.

Shane Mettam, Montecasino in-house designer, was given the task of creating this iconic logo. Inspired by photographs taken in Tuscany and theatre posters, with clean, simple, easily recognisable designs to provide direction, Mettam used modern, free lines to bridge the gap between modern and ancient. “I also wanted to incorporate the quintessential icons of theatre – the masks of comedy and tragedy – but make them somehow unique to this theatre, which is the only true Lyric theatre in South Africa.”

He developed loose line drawings, in an illustrated style, to convey the impression of a fresco, in the contemporary European free-flowing style he had been briefed in by Bruton to capture. Adapting the tragedy symbol to have a slightly more surprised than tragic feel, he used the comedy/tragedy icons as a starting point, adding the musical element of the Lyric theatre as the third icon of the logo.

After much debate as to whether Montecasino should appear as a prefix or suffix to the Italian word for theatre, it was decided to give dominance to the word ‘Teatro’ and to retain the Italian naming tradition, calling it the “Teatro at Montecasino” in the written world and Montecasino Teatro in logo form.

The Teatro is a sub-brand of Montecasino, and Mettam used the Montecasino font as a starting point, subtly integrating the diamond element of the Montecasino logo. Using the textures found in the Teatro’s interior – metallic bronze, carpet and marble – he developed the autumnal colours of the theatre’s three icons – comedy, tragedy and music, in keeping with Montecasino’s colour palette.

The inspiration for the payoff line was drawn from one of theatre’s greatest icons and most prolific writers – Shakespeare – whose classic phrase, “If music be the food of love, play on” is one of his most quoted lines. Cleverly adapting the phrase to convey the positioning of the theatre as a lifestyle brand, the creative team came up with the payoff line: “If life were a play, this is where you’d live”.

“The logo for this spectacular theatre reflects the freedom of expression of theatre while maintaining key elements of the Montecasino parent brand and distinctive signatures of the theatre itself,” concludes Bruton.