Cape Town Theatre

The phrases Cape Town Theatre and The Cape Town Theatre are used in two ways in the literature:

As a generic term

Referring to all theatre activities in Cape Town (and on some occasions even the Cape Province), the term has been widely used by journalists since the 19th century. See for example the writings of Lady Anne Barnard, D.C. Boonzaier, Percy Ward Laidler, F.C.L. Bosman, Jill Fletcher, et al.

Also used in this sense are The Cape Stage, Theatre in Cape Town, Cape Town Performance, etc.

As the name of a venue

In the early 1800s the terms Cape Town Theatre or The Cape Town Theatre were specifically used at times to refer to The African Theatre (or Di Afrikaansche Schouwburg) in Cape Town. It was one of the informal names employed by Cape Town locals, theatre companies and journalists to refer specifically to The African Theatre (or Di Afrikaansche Schouwburg), the first custom-built Western-style theatre in South Africa.

It was again used in the 1860s to refer to the Harrington Street Theatre under the management of Sefton Parry.

See further The African Theatre and the Harrington Street Theatre, Cape Town.

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