The first of two large sound stages on the Sasani Studios site in Highlands North, Johannesburg came on line this month. Stage 6 houses e.tv's soapie Rhythm City and is 958m with 234m of sets and props storage.

At the roof wetting of the studio, Sasani CEO Geoff Green thanked all those involved for their efforts in what is truly a remarkable achievement. Said Green: "It all started in October 2007 when Eileen Sandrock, MD of ZSE TV, and I met with Bronwyn Keene-Young, COO of e.tv and Cedric Robertson, station manager to discuss the possibility of building two stages on the Sasani site to accommodate e.tv's popular daily dramas, Rhythm City and Scandal."

"The one inflexible was that Stage 6 had to be ready by the end of March 2008 and Stage 7, which is to accommodate Scandal, must be completed by the end of May 2008."

"These are tight deadlines by anyone's standards, and would require a top team working incredibly long hours, bearing in mind the Christmas break of some three weeks. Construction work on Stage 6 actually commenced on 13 November and work on Stage 7 commenced shortly thereafter"

Read more in the May 2008 issue of Screen Africa