Oddfellows Hall

The Oddfellows Hall was the Cape Town lodge constructed for the South African branch of the British fraternity the Independent Order of Oddfellows [1]. Also found written in the American fashion: Odd Fellows Hall, while D.C. Boonzaier (1923) has it as the Oddfellows' Hall and F.C.L. Bosman (1980) even has the very strange spelling of Odd Fellow's Hall.

In the late 1860s referred to as the Oddfellows' New Hall on occasion (e.g. by Leroy and Duret).

It was often used for performances in the 19th century by groups such as Door Yver Bloeit de Kunst, Kunst en Vlyt, De Eendracht, Aurora and various early 20th century companies.

It was briefly renamed a few times, e.g. as the Royal Lyceum Theatre or the New Lyceum Theatre (by Webster, 1870-1872), the Bijou Theatre in 1875 (by Disney Roebuck who had revamped and renamed it for his productions).

Today the lodge building is part of the South African Parliament Buildings.

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.)

P.W. Laidler. 1926. The Annals of the Cape Stage. Edinburgh: William Bryce: pp. 81,87,

Miemie Neethling. 2002. Cape curtains: a study of selected Cape Town theatres, 1843-1916. Unpublished MA thesis: University of Stellenbosch: pp. 69-70.

F.C.L. Bosman, 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp. 252, 276ff., 306ff., 321, 337ff., 371.

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