Maynardville Open-air Theatre is situated in Wynberg, Cape Town, and has long been devoted to productions of Shakespeare. Also referred to simply as Maynardville.

BEING EDITED

The Theatre

The Maynardville Open-air Theatre is situated in Maynardville Park, Wynberg. The spectacular green wooded park has earned it the repution for is one of the best-loved outdoor theatre venues in the Cape Region. It offers its patrons both a 500m2 wooded park for pre-show picnics and drinks, as well as a unique wooded 720-seater theatre setting. Most famous for the annual Shakespeare-in-the-Park, it has, over the last 50 years attracted an average attendance of 20 000 patrons per year, a strong focus of which is the Schools in the Western Cape. The Shakespeare sees up to 8000 scholars grade 9 to 12 from as far afield as Heidelberg.

The History

The theatre was founded on 1 December 1950, and opened on that day with a performance of a ballet, Les Sylphides.

Although there is a wide-held belief that this was the brainchild of two professional actresses, it was in fact originally envisioned by several ladies of the Athlone Committee for Nursery School Education, as a fundraising institution for charitable causes on the Cape Flats. One of them had visited the Regents Park Open Air Theatre in 1948, and had been inspired to create one in Cape Town that would rival Regents Park. The ladies of the Athlone Committee had noted the declaration of Maynardville in 1949 as a park “open to all” (an important feature for a mixed-race organisation, and soon to be a rarity in Cape Town), and they immediately wrote to the City Council, stating their aim of creating an open air theatre in Maynardville.

The committee decided to begin the theatre with ballet performances, and approached Dulcie Howes, Principal of UCT Ballet School. They then approached the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra and Dr Erik Chisholm (conductor, composer, as well as Dean and Director of the College of Music). All agreed to contribute without charge. The Athlone Committee then cleared an area of the park with a team of gardeners, and prepared the stage.

Finally, on 1, 2 and 3 December 1950 the UCT Ballet Company presented first Les Sylphides (produced by Cecily Robinson after Fokine), and then Dulcie Howes’s St Valentine’s Night and Les Diversions.

The performances – and those in the following years – were an immense success, and drew in people of all backgrounds from throughout Cape Town. The performances funded the Athlone Training College (established under the auspices of Barkly Training College for Nursery Education) in February 1952, among other projects.

In 1953, during a break in the ballet performances (which recommenced the following year in 1954) the Chairlady of the Athlone Committee, Mrs Margaret Molteno, approached the two talented and well-known actresses Cecilia Sonnenberg and René Ahrenson, at their Spotlight Theatre. The actresses were invited to start and lead productions of Shakespeare, for the purpose of "keeping our open-air Theatre alive". The two actresses were then shown around the rudimentary theatre and the Maynardville grounds. Although they initially politely declined the invitation, the following year they changed their minds, and agreed to take on the project.

Through her husband Cecilia had contacts in the Cape Town City Council. She and René eventually bullied the councillors into redoing the stage and auditorium for them to mount a production of The Taming of the Shrew. By a happy accident they had met Leslie French in England (Cecilia had acted with him in Regent's Park) and persuaded him to come to Cape Town to direct and act in the play. He was a celebrated stage and film actor who had started as a boy in the Ben Greet Players and had gone on to star in Lillian Bayliss' Old Vic productions and was famous for his performances in the open air theatre in Regent's Park in London. Just before he was due to board the mail-boat for Cape Town, Leslie received a telegram from Cecelia and Rene telling him not to come because (for a second time) they had "cold feet". Leslie's response was typical. He sent a cable back: "Buy hot water bottles, I'm coming out". That first Shakespearean production at Maynardville in 1956 of The Taming of the Shrew ran to packed houses for a month and thus started a legend. After the performances of the first year, the stage was again altered and enlarged, to its current layout. Finally, in February 1958, the theatre officially became a fully permanent institution, by decision of the City Council (see Robinson, 19**: p. 22)

The ballet performances were ongoing, throughout this time. However, in 1963, the CAPAB Ballet Company took them over at Maynardville Open Air Theatre.

In a period when it was not easy, the cast and audiences were always multi racial. Many people who are now leading lights in SA theatre started out or enhanced their careers in those early productions; Roy Sargeant, Ralph Lawson, Michael McGovern, John Whiteley and Lyn Hooker, to name but a few. They also lured many overseas actors to Maynardville, some of whom, like Michael Atkinson and Keith Grenville, settled here and have enriched the South African theatre ever since. From the very outset there were special concessions for block bookings of school children. Often the play chosen was one of the exam set works. Thanks to the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre, hundreds of thousands of Cape school children have experienced their first taste of Shakespeare as it should be; as a live performance on stage. Generations of boys and girls discovered they could understand the Elizabethan language and found that the 400 year old plays could be as fresh and absorbing as any contemporary drama.

In 1975 Cecilia and René joined hands with CAPAB in joint management of Maynardville for the next five years. After their retirement from Maynardville, on the occasion of the 25th year of production, Romeo and Juliet, the CAPAB Drama department kept the flame alive. For 17 years they brought guest actors to Maynardville and together with the core company mounted a further 18 productions in this time. When the Drama Department closed in the mid 90's there was still a commitment to ensuring the continuance of the Shakespeare-in-the-Park. The Maynardville Theatre Trust was established with Cecilia Sonnenberg as patron to give guidance and strategic support for Maynardville.

Today the Maynardville Theatre Trust, together with Artscape, continues to carry the banner of Classical Theatre and Dance at the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre.

The two actresses did not conceive of the idea, as can be shown. The theatre is well documented as running already, as early as 1 December 1950.

They DO however deserve credit as the tireless administrators and public faces of the theatre, long after the Athlone ladies faded into the background (during the intensifying politics of the 1970s).

The false attribution stems from this time, and from the (otherwise beautifully written book by Helen Robinson). Most subsequent works have copied from her book, and therefore propagated this rather glaring omission. The first hand sources from the time however, show this to be a mis-attribution

In the mid 1950's, Cecilia Sonnenberg and René Ahrenson were well-known South African actresses and they conceived the idea that the then little-used park in Wynberg would make an ideal open air theatre. Through her husband Cecilia had contacts in the Cape Town City Council. She and René eventually bullied the councillors into creating a stage and raked auditorium for them to mount a production of The Taming of the Shrew. By a happy accident they had met Leslie French in England (Cecilia had acted with him in Regent's Park) and persuaded him to come to Cape Town to direct and act in the play. He was a celebrated stage and film actor who had started as a boy in the Ben Greet Players and had gone on to star in Lillian Bayliss' Old Vic productions and was famous for his performances in the open air theatre in Regent's Park in London. Just before he was due to board the mail-boat for Cape Town, Leslie received a telegram from Cecelia and Rene telling him not to come because they had "cold feet". Leslie's response was typical. He sent a cable back: "Buy hot water bottles, I'm coming out". That first production at Maynardville in 1956 of The Taming of the Shrew ran to packed houses for a month and thus started a legend.

In a period when it was not easy, the cast and audiences were always multi racial. Many people who are now leading lights in SA theatre started out or enhanced their careers in those early productions; Roy Sargeant, Ralph Lawson, Michael McGovern, John Whiteley and Lyn Hooker, to name but a few. They also lured many overseas actors to Maynardville, some of whom, like Michael Atkinson and Keith Grenville, settled here and have enriched the South African theatre ever since.

From the very outset there were special concessions for block bookings of school children. Often the play chosen was one of the exam set works. Thanks to the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre, hundreds of thousands of Cape school children have experienced their first taste of Shakespeare as it should be; as a live performance on stage. Generations of boys and girls discovered they could understand the Elizabethan language and found that the 400 year old plays could be as fresh and absorbing as any contemporary drama.

In 1975 Cecilia and René joined hands with CAPAB in joint management of Maynardville for the next five years. After their retirement from Maynardville, on the occasion of the 25th year of production, Romeo and Juliet, the CAPAB Drama department kept the flame alive. For 17 years they brought guest actors to Maynardville and together with the core company mounted a further 18 productions in this time. When the Drama Department closed in the mid 90's there was still a commitment to ensuring the continuance of the Shakespeare-in-the-Park. The Maynardville Theatre Trust was established with Cecilia Sonnenberg as patron to give guidance and strategic support for Maynardville.

Today the Maynardville Theatre Trust, together with Artscape, continues to carry the banner of Classical Theatre and Dance at the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre.