Gaiety Theatre

Gaiety Theatre is a name given to a number of theatres in the late 18th and early 20th centuries across the globe, also in South Africa.

See also Gaiety Company

The Gaiety Theatre, Johannesburg

A small music hall theatre in Kort Street, between Market & Commissioner Streets in Johannesburg, was opened in the Metropole Buildings and at first, devoted to musical comedy. It was opened by Harry Stodel in 1893 and the opening production starred well-known European actors WC Fields, Marie Lloyd, and Kate Harvey. Run on the old “Chairman” Music Hall lines, selling beer, whiskey etc on the premises, entrance 1 shilling with acts that were “local but first class”.

In 1894 its lease was taken over by the Empire Theatres Company SA (Ltd). Stodel subsequently took over Luscombe Searelle’s Music Hall.

The first-ever Afrikaans theatrical performance staged in Johannesburg was on 2 January 1899 at The Gaiety.

In 1902, a Yiddish theatre company arrived that included two couples: Waxman and his wife from London, and Wallerstein and his wife from New York. They were great rivals and eventually split both vying for audiences at The Gaiety and Empire Palace of Varieties. Sunday performances at the Gaiety were almost exclusively in Yiddish.

The Gaiety was taken over by Leonard Rayne in 1902. The Gaiety was also known as “De Gaatjie”. The building was also linked to Gandhi who addressed several meetings there, notably the 1907 meeting of Transvaal Indians opposing the Asiatic Registration Act. He also addressed a meeting there on 13 July 1914, a few days after leaving Johannesburg for good. Prior to this, The Gaiety, after being abandoned for a few years became a cinema in June 1910 for some time. The building eventually became a grocery store and was demolished sometime in 1972 to be replaced by the Southern Life Centre.

The Gaiety Theatre, Port Elizabeth

The venue opened in 1914 in Princes Street (now part of Govan Mbeki Ave), Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha). It seated 650 people and opened with a mixture of cinema and live entertainment, including a snake charmer and a dancer named 'Ambrosia'.

The Gaiety Theatre, East London

This venue was in Oxford Street, East London and was sometimes used for live performances.

Sources

See Fletcher, 1994; Kaplan and Robertson, 1991, Stodel, 1962

Robbie and Alta Hift. 2001. Port Elizabeth.

Beryl Bowie. 2005. East London - heart of Buffalo City

https://johannesburg1912.com/2013/07/29/theatres-in-early-johannesburg/

For more information

See also Music hall, Gaiety Theatre of Varieties, Oudtshoorn

Return to

Return to South African Theatre Venues, Companies, Societies, etc

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page