Joseph Stone Auditorium

Joseph Stone Auditorium in Athlone,Cape Town - also referred to as the Joseph Stone Theatre - was built as a home for the EOAN Group and named after the group's benefactor who donated R100 000 towards the building of the theatre. It comprises various practise rooms, studios and offices, was inaugurated on 21 November 1969.

The Joseph Stone Auditorium was built for a total cost of R287 000, which was funded by the government (R120 000), the Joseph Stone Foundation (R100 000), the Bernard van Leer Foundation from the Netherlands (R34 000), and the Eoan Group (R33 000).

Utilized for opera productions by the EOAN Group as well as plays by community groups. These include Heidedal [from Bloemfontein??*] (e.g. Hanskind van die Bos in 1986), Robertson Drama Group (e.g. Krismis van Map Jacobs, 1986).

The Council for Culture, Sport and Recreation organised the firstNational Amateur Theatre Festival here in ?, with thirteen groups participating. In 1981 there was active participation by 52 groups, 35 in Afrikaans and 17 in English.

Sources

Wayne Muller. 2018. A reception history of opera in Cape Town: Tracing the development of a distinctly South African operatic aesthetic (1985–2015). Unpublished PhD thesis.

For more information

See EOAN Group

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