Bijou Theatre

French for “jewel”, it is a generic name for theatres across the world. A popular name for theatre buildings in South Africa as well especially in the 19th century, later also used for bioscopes. There were several theatre venues in South Africa named The Bijou - located in Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg and Johannesburg.

Bijou Theatres in Cape Town

Bijou Theatre, Plein Street

Name given to the Oddfellows Hall by Disney Roebuck when he revamped it in 1875, adding a backdrop by illustrating "Discovery of the SA Goldfields", painted by Thomas Baines. He appointed Sutton Vane as stage manager, and performed 140 plays there in the first 7 month season. In 1876, on his return from a tour of Natal, Roebuck moved to the newly completed Theatre Royal in Burg Street, and apparently the Bijou ceased to exist (in name – the Oddfellows Hall was again used after that*?).

Productions performed there include:

1875: A Quiet Family, East Lynne, Pygmalion and Galatea, Brown and the Brahmins, or Captain Pop and The Princess Pretty-eyes!, Leah, or The Jewish Maiden, Lady Audley's Secret.The Pilgrim of Love, A Happy Pair, The Palace of Truth, The Steeple Chase, Caste, Henry Dunbar, or A Daughter's Trial, Hercules, King of Clubs, The School for Scandal, Nobody's Child, The Morning Call, Lost in London, The Duke's Motto, or I'm Here, Little Emily, or The Ark on the Lands and Nursey Chickweed, all by by the Disney Roebuck company.

For more information, see Oddfellows Hall.

The Bijou Theatre in Observatory

The Bijou Theatre was opened in 1941 and designed by architect William Hood Grant. It was situated at 178 Lower Main Road, Observatory. It was closed as a cinema circa 2002 and since then has been used as an art gallery and a venue for special events.

The Bijou Theatre in Salt River

An art-deco cinema building built in 19**...

The Bijou Theatres, Pietermaritzburg

The Bijou Theatre

A theatre of note in Pietermaritzburg in the late nineteenth century (16 October 1867 – 6 December 1876)

The New Bijou Theatre

On 11 August 1877 the Bijou Theatre re-opened as the New Bijou and was later renamed the Theatre Royal.

The Bijous, Johannebsurg

The Bijou Cinema, Small and President Streets (1909)

The second-ever permanent cinema in South Africa was the Bijou which opened on 2nd September 1909 in a converted building that belonged to Union Market on the corner of Small and President Streets. It was promoted by two Canadians, W. Bogue and G. K. Shepard who were later joined by H. V. Barnes who showed ‘Bioscopes’ at the Wanderers Hall.

The ‘Bijou No.1’ in President Street became the Royalty but closed down soon afterwards.

The second Bijou, Fordsburg Market Square (1909)

The promotors opened the 2nd Bijou (or Bijou No.2 as it was known) in the Assembly Hall at Fordsburg market square on 16th December 1909. Barnes became the manager of this, Johannesburg’s second cinema.

The Bijou Theatre, Jeppe Street (1910-1958)

This was designed by Kallenbach & Kennedy in May 1910, signed off on the 11 June 1910 by the council, and subsequently built in Jeppe Street (165-7) between Eloff and Joubert Street. It officially opened on the 30th of July 1910.

It was refurbished in 1919 and again in 1930 when it was updated to the ‘talkies’ era. In 1936 its capacity was listed as 1549. It still retained its orchestra pit – a relic from the days of silent films when it was demolished in 1958.

The Bijou is credited with showing the first sound musical under the African Theatres (Schlesinger) banner: The Singing Fool with Al Jolson on 30th November 1929. The Bijou was also Johannesburg’s ‘super cinema’ before the Metro and Colosseum appeared in the 1930s. Another first for the Bijou was that it was the first to show Silly Symphonies and other Walt Disney sound cartoons that supported The Singing Fool.

An 18-storey building called Rand Central took its place.

Sources

Jill Fletcher, 1994;

Dennis Schauffer, 197*

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

Return to

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

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page