African Consolidated Theatres
African Consolidated Theatres (ACT) was a national theatre and film organization active in the country for much of the 20th century established in about 1932.
Also found as African Consolidated Theatres Ltd (ACT).
For more information pre-1931, see African Theatres Trust.
Contents
African Consolidated Theatres (ACT) (1931-1970)
The African Theatres Trust (1913-1931) was a theatrical importing and distributing agency and management company founded by I.W. Schlesinger and A.H. Stodel (Harry Stodel). Eventually this empire grew to encompass the cinema industry as well and was renamed African Consolidated Theatres (ACT) in 1931 following a merger with Kinemas. The company became central to the development of professional theatre and film in the country. It appears it continued to produce theatre until 1970.
Between 1920 and 1960 virtually no-one could play the cities without the support and involvement of African Theatres/African Consolidated Theatres, or at least utilizing their facilities. The company bought the wardrobe of the Graaff-Reinet Amateur Dramatic and Musical Society upon its disbandment for £2000. In 1932 they contracted the Johannesburg REPS for a production of Dangerous Corner in His Majesty’s Theatre and in 1933 for one of Shaw’s Arms and the Man. In 1941, when the outbreak of war had seriously curtailed professional theatre in South Africa, African Theatres once again invited the REPS to take over the Standard Theatre, and from then till the end of war in 1945, almost all of its work was ceded to the REPS. They later collaborated with NTO on a number of projects as well.
Hymie Udwin was an executive at ACT for many years.
African Consolidated Theatres Ltd was acquired by 20th Century Fox in 1955.
Productions
Productions staged by African Consolidated Theatres include:
1932: Dangerous Corner (in association with Johannesburg Reps); The Barber of Seville
1933: Arms and the Man (in association with Johannesburg Reps); Children in Uniform; Nine Till Six, Verborge Sonde; Misdade van die Vaders ; Aida
1934: Kain
1939: Robinson Crusoe
1940s: (date unknown) The Desert Song
1940: Night Must Fall; The Corn is Green
1941: Alice in Wonderland; Tosca (in association with John Connell); Jack and the Beanstalk
1942: The Sleeping Beauty
1943: Dick Whittington and his Cat; The Bartered Bride, Madame Butterfly and Rigoletto (the three operas presented in association with the University of Cape Town, the National Opera Company, the Cape Town Municipal Orchestra and the Johannesburg Philharmonic Society)
1944: Dick Whittington and his Cat; Cinderella; And So to Bed (in association with Munro-Inglis Company); Rebecca; Milestones and Blithe Spirit (in association with Gwen ffrangçon-Davies / Marda Vanne Company)
1945: The Peepshow of 1945; Tosca, Aladdin; Her Little Ladyship; While the Sun Shines; Full House (in association with Munro-Inglis Company); The Merry Wives of Windsor (in association with Gwen ffrangçon-Davies / Marda Vanne Company); La Traviata; La Bohème
1946: Robinson Crusoe; Die Kerkmuis (in association with Die Kunsteater)
1947: The Man in Half Moon Street (in association with Eric Egan and David Goldblatt)
1948: Oklahoma!
1949: Three Brian Brooke Company productions: Present Laughter, No Room at the Inn, The Heiress
1950s: Robinson Crusoe on Ice at various venues in the country.
1950: Brigadoon (Phil Levard's last production for ACT); Cinderella; Hassan (in association with NTO)
1951: Don't Listen, Ladies!
1952: Dick Whittington
1955: Two Taubie Kushlick productions: The Desperate Hours and The Fifth Season
1958: The Pajama Game
1959: Bo Jungle (in association with Bertha Egnos)
1962: My Fair Lady
1964: The Moulin Rouge Show
1966: The Minstrel Scandals
1969: Fiddler on the Roof; Robert and Elizabeth
1970: Non-Stop Minstrel Scandals
International artists
1946: George Formby performed for ACT at the Colosseum Theatre.
1947: Imported Ivor Novello and his full company to tour his musical Perchance to Dream which appeared at His Majesty's Theatre.
1949: They imported Irving Berlin’s musical, Annie Get Your Gun (Jimmy Mackenzie was responsible for publicity at this time).
1952: In association with the NTO, ACT presented the Old Vic Company on tour in South Africa, with A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, The Other Heart and Macbeth.
1954: ACT booked Danny Kaye, a stand-up comedian to play in Johannesburg; ACT brought Maurice Schwartz and his Yiddish Art Theatre Company from New York to His Majesty’s Theatre.
1955: ACT brought out Sir Edmund Hillary to give lectures at the Plaza Theatre.
1957: Bernard Delfont’s London version of the Folies Bergère; ACT presented international ballet stars Beryl Grey, Oleg Briansky and conductor David Tidboald on tour.
1964: They imported Lilac Time from Tom Arnold as part of the Johannesburg Festival; they presented Zizi Jeanmaire at the Empire Theatre in a large-scale revue; they also presented British comedian Bruce Forsyth.
1966: They brought The Seekers to the Colosseum Theatre,
1967: Together with George and Alfred Black, they presented Michael Bentine, Joe Baker and Jane Fyffe in Let Yourself Go during the Christmas season of 1967.
Venues
African Consolidated Theatres built or acquired a number of venues around South Africa. Some of these include:
- Alhambra Theatre, Cape Town
- The Capitol Theatre, Pretoria
- The Colosseum, Johannesburg
- The Empire Theatre, Johannesburg
- Opera House, Port Elizabeth
- Opera House, Pretoria
- Palladium Theatre, Johannesburg
- Prince's Cinema, Durban
- Tivoli Theatre, Cape Town
Sources
D.C. Boonzaier. 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1923. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)
F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik.
Brian Brooke. 1978. My Own Personal Star: An Autobiography. Johannesburg: The Limelight Press.
P.J. du Toit. 1988. Amateurtoneel in Suid-Afrika. Pretoria: Academica
Jill Fletcher. 1994. The Story of Theatre in South Africa: A Guide to its History from 1780-1930. Cape Town: Vlaeberg.
Temple Hauptfleisch. 1997. Theatre and Society in South Africa: Reflections in a Fractured Mirror. Pretoria: Van Schaik[1].
Loren Kruger 1999. The Drama of South Africa: Plays, Pageants and Publics Since 1910. London: Routledge.
Olga Racster. 1951. Curtain up! The story of Cape Theatre. Cape Town: Juta.
South African History Online "A History of the South African Film Industry timeline" 1895-2003, [2]
Stodel, Jack 1962. The Audience Is Waiting. Cape Town: Howard Timmins.
Percy Tucker. 1997. Just the Ticket. My 50 Years in Show Business. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press.
https://johannesburg1912.com/2013/07/29/theatres-in-early-johannesburg/
(For the plays done or supported by ACT, see Part 3, Sections 4a and 4b)
Greyvenstein, Walter 1988. The history and development of children's theatre in English in South Africa. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Johannesburg: Rand Afrikaans University.
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