Victoria Theatre
There have been a number of theatres by this name in South Africa.
Contents
The Victoria Theatre, Cape Town.
In response to the loss of the old African Theatre in March 1839, a new theatre was begun in Drury Lane. It was initially to have been be called the Royal Victoria Theatre, but the general public tended to refer to it as the Drury Lane Theatre, and it eventually retained this nickname.
The name Victoria Theatre was assumed for a while by the Dutch amateur company's venue, the De Liefhebbery Tooneel or Hope Street Theatre after its refurbishment in 1846.
The Victoria Theatre, Pietermaritzburg.
Originally called simply The Garrison Theatre, it opened on 10 August 1846 as the first theatre building in Pietermaritzburg. Built as permanent theatre of corrugated iron,, it seated 500 and had boxes, a gallery, pit, orchestra and a stage with box rollers, velvets, slides, drops, chandeliers and footlights. Described as comfortable, with excellent acoustics. Renamed The Victoria Theatre from 21 August 1846. The opening production was Douglas (Home) and Annimal Magnetism (Inchbald). Final production was The Child of Nature (De Genlis/Inchbald) and Borough Politics (Marston) on 1 April 1850. Twenty-four plays were presented in total. Closed in April 1850
The Victoria Theatre, Grahamstown
Sources
Jill Fletcher. 1994. The Story of Theatre in South Africa: A Guide to its History from 1780-1930. Cape Town: Vlaeberg Publishers.
Schauffer, Dennis 1978. The Establishment of a Theatrical Tradition in Pietermaritzburg, Prior to the Opening of the First Civilian Playhouse. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal.
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