030 INTERVIEW
Gearhouse supplied equipment and provided technical expertise for South Africa’s Film and Television Awards. Photo courtesy of Clive Morris Productions.
Of all the people mondo*dr has interviewed over the years there can be few as charismatic, or with such a colourful background as Ofer Lapid, who heads the mighty Gearhouse South Africa. The Israeli-born entrepreneur, who arrived in South Africa during apartheid on the back of a tour, has played a pivotal role in raising the production values in sub- Saharan Africa, with constant reinvestment in cutting edge staging infrastructure and training. And on the installation stage the company was perfectly placed to take advantage of South Africa’s hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Yet the twists and turns of his career could have taken Ofer on an entirely different journey, both professionally and geographically. Born into Tel Aviv’s middle class to parents from educated good stock, their attempts to persuade their son to follow their example were doomed to fail. “I guess I was born to be a black sheep, with a rebellious streak,” he refl ected. Ofer was aged just seven when in June 1967 the Arab-Israel War - known as The Six-Day War - took place and it was while holed up in a shelter with others that he was fi rst exposed to the kind of music that would shape his life. “I remember hearing Rolling Stones’ ‘Let It Bleed’ on cassette, that was what inspired me to listen to music and fi nd my way into music as part of my career.” Later, while living in North Tel Aviv, across the road from a live performance venue, he watched trucks pulling up, loading and unloading kit with a growing fascination for life on the road as a crew technician. He had already demonstrated his talent as an entrepreneur after being expelled from school for growing cannabis, although since it was an agricultural boarding school he might have felt hard done by. “In fact I was extremely proud of how well this enterprise took off,” he said with a grin. But any aspirations Ofer had of fulfi lling his dreams as a lighting technician in Tel Aviv were limited. “Living in a small country like Israel, where English is a second language, we tended to think that this was the extent of the world, breeding a culture of local rather than international interest. My fi rst exposure to the wider world came from travelling with Israeli bands performing for various Jewish communities around the world as lighting designer / operator.” It wasn’t long before he made contact with Bryan Grant at Britannia Row in London, through an unlikely circumstance. “A friend of mine, Avi Bueno went to work for Britannia Row at the end of the ‘70s and brought back stories of action across the Mediterranean. Just before the Lebanon War, Miron Rechtman of Betty Bam [one of Israel’s leading sound and lighting companies] forged a deal with Bryan to bring second-hand equipment to Israel. “This looked like an interesting collaboration between the two companies, until the
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Lebanon War broke in 1982 and the project collapsed. But it left me with a taste of UK production standards in my mouth and an idea of the benchmark I wanted to achieve in my life.” Growing up in Israel, of course, also brought with it mandatory conscription, usually three years in the case of men. “I grew up with Zionist thinking, as in it’s good to die for your country, so the foundation of going into the army was already laid,” said Ofer. “However, due to one thing or another, plus a somewhat shady past, the army initially rejected me. Through stories that I cannot mention here, I applied and was accepted into the Navy instead. The Navy taught me discipline and I learnt to listen to others whether I wanted to or not. Here I got recognition for my achievements too, unlike my school career experience.” Nevertheless, Ofer’s moral code was shaped by his father, who was a powerful fi gure in the municipal districts of Tel Aviv and this would stand him in good stead for later. Maybe it was his naval experiences that gave Ofer the wanderlust or perhaps a desire to leave the country after the Lebanon War. Either way, he was soon heading out of the country, and in 1985 landed in South Africa as the last station of a music tour with Israeli band, Hakol Ovir Habibi. “I decided to stay because I was curious about what the country was about, I have always been attracted to the unknown. I arrived in February, was ready to leave again by March but by April was approached to do a large-scale event in Lesotho and was bitten by the African continent bug. “It was a show with very little sound and limited lighting, no security or crowd barrier, but I had found a fantastic band Juluka and a community of 50,000 black people with loads of soul.” What set Juluka apart was that long before apartheid was abolished, here was a mixed band showing off with pride the heritage of one of the biggest cultures in the land, Zulu. The band’s singers were the popular Johnny Clegg - before forming Savuka - and Sipho Mchunu. Having arrived in South Africa, the second step for Ofer Lapid was to remain there. Six months into his stay he risked his tourist visa and started working. He then had to join a Government institution in order to acquire a work permit. “I started work at the State Theatre in Pretoria, which was divided like a chess board into black and white. I worked there for 12 months and it taught me a lot about apartheid and the everyday impact of it on the lives of South Africans.” At that time, the most common language spoken at the theatre was Afrikaans and the black staff sat on one side of the canteen,” he remembered. “The State Theatre was a very sophisticated theatre by world standards and certainly
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