Intimate Theatre - Revision history

Darryl: /* History */

2026-09-02T17:35:05Z

History

Darryl: /* The Intimate , State Theatre, Pretoria */

2026-09-02T17:24:11Z

The Intimate , State Theatre, Pretoria

Darryl: /* The Intimate , State Theatre, Pretoria */

2026-09-02T17:23:58Z

The Intimate , State Theatre, Pretoria

Darryl: /* The Intimate Theatre, Rissik Street, Johannesburg */

2026-09-02T17:22:12Z

The Intimate Theatre, Rissik Street, Johannesburg

Darryl: /* Sources */

2026-09-02T17:21:44Z

Sources

Darryl at 17:21, 2 September 2026

2026-09-02T17:21:21Z

Darryl at 16:33, 2 September 2026

2026-09-02T16:33:16Z

Darryl at 16:32, 2 September 2026

2026-09-02T16:32:50Z

Darryl: /* The Intimate Theatre, Cape Town */

2024-07-24T17:36:06Z

The Intimate Theatre, Cape Town

Darryl at 17:35, 24 July 2024

2024-07-24T17:35:46Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:35, 2 September 2026
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	A 110 seater intimate venue created in the South African [[State Theatre]].		A 110 seater intimate venue created in the South African [[State Theatre]].
−
−	~~Later re-named the [[Rendezvous Theatre]].~~

	===Productions===		===Productions===

@@ Line 82: / Line 82: @@
 A 110 seater intimate venue created in the South African [[State Theatre]].
-Later ten-named the [[Rendezvous Theatre]].
+Later re-named the [[Rendezvous Theatre]].
 ===Productions===

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:23, 2 September 2026
Line 81:		Line 81:

	A 110 seater intimate venue created in the South African [[State Theatre]].		A 110 seater intimate venue created in the South African [[State Theatre]].
		+
		+	Later ten-named the [[Rendezvous Theatre]].

	===Productions===		===Productions===

@@ Line 22: / Line 22: @@
 Productions staged here over the years include:
 : [[Shirley Firth]] staged the comedy ''[[The Little Hut]]''. The hit revue, ''[[Let Your Hair Down]]'', was staged at the [[Intimate Theatre]] as 1958 drew to its close, and continued in 1959. It starred the creator of the show [[Adam Leslie]], together with [[Joan Blake]], [[Hilda Kriseman]], visiting American [[Eric Micklewood]], and a three-girl chorus.
@@ Line 69: / Line 68: @@
 : [[Joyce Levinsohn]] and [[Jill Gerard]] staged ''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'' and ''[[Aladdin]]'' in 1986.
-: [[Jill Gerard]]’s [[People’s Theatre]] presented ''[[Winnie the Pooh]]'' and ''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'' in 1991.
+: [[Jill Gerard]]’s [[Peoples Theatre]] presented ''[[Winnie the Pooh]]'' and ''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'' in 1991.
 ==[[The Intimate Theatre]], Cape Town==

@@ Line 85: / Line 85: @@
 ===Productions===
-==Sources==
+=Sources=
 Gosher, 1988;
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 Broadcast on ''Morning Edition'' (January 2, 2012: 12:01 AM ET)
 [https://www.npr.org/2012/01/02/144483332/up-close-and-personal-introducing-intimate-theater#:~:text=Intimate%20theater%20relies%20on%20tight,them)%20sit%20in%20the%20back.]
 = Return to =

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[Intimate Theatre]] can refer to a theatre form/convention, as well as to the name of a theatre venue. There have been at least three venues in South Africa named [[Intimate Theatre]]: in Johannesburg, Pretoria (at the [[State Theatre]]) and Cape Town.
+[[Intimate Theatre]] can refer to a theatre form/convention, as well as to the name of a theatre venue. There have been at least three venues in South Africa named [[Intimate Theatre]]: in Johannesburg, Pretoria (at the [[State Theatre]]) and Cape Town (at the [[University of Cape Town]]).
 =As a reference to a theatrical convention/form=
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 Some variations of the name have included what is referred to as the '''[[intimate revue]]'''
 =As the name of a venue=
@@ Line 27: / Line 21: @@
 ===Productions===
-[[Shirley Firth]] staged the comedy ''[[The Little Hut]]''. The hit revue, ''[[Let Your Hair Down]]'', was staged at the [[Intimate Theatre]] as 1958 drew to its close, and continued in 1959. It starred the creator of the show [[Adam Leslie]], together with [[Joan Blake]], [[Hilda Kriseman]], visiting American [[Eric Micklewood]], and a three-girl chorus. [[Leonard Schach]]’s [[Cockpit Players]] embarked on a lengthy Johannesburg run of four of their recent Cape Town successes in 1959. The first was ''[[Long Day's Journey into Night]]'' at the Intimate, starring [[Leon Gluckman]], [[John McKelvey]], [[Joan Blake]] and [[Nigel Hawthorne]] in 1959. The second was [[Basil Warner]]’s ''[[Try for White]]'', which opened at the [[Pretoria Opera House]] before moving to the [[Intimate Theatre]] for the remainder of their highly successful run. It starred [[Marjorie Gordon]], [[Nigel Hawthorne]], [[Zoe Randall]], [[Michael Turner]]. [[Joyce Grant]] and [[Fiona Fraser]] replaced [[Minna Millsten]] and [[Heather Lloyd-Jones]] respectively, from the Cape Town cast. [[Taubie Kushlick]] directed ''[[The Marriage-Go-Round]]'' which was staged at the [[Intimate Theatre]] in September 1959, with [[Gordon Mulholland]], [[Fiona Fraser]] and [[Peggy Moran]]. The [[YMCA]] committee for the Intimate gave [[Leonard Schach]] permission to stage Brendan Behan’s play ''[[The Hostage]]'' at the [[Intimate Theatre]] in 1960. Yet they refused permission to stage his ''[[Lock Up Your Daughters]]''. [[Kushlick-Gluckman]] took on a twelve-month contract with the Intimate in 1960. [[Kushlick-Gluckman]] mounted a revival of Clare Boothe’s ''[[The Women]]'' at the Intimate in 1961. [[Anthony Farmer]] designed, and [[Shirley Firth]], [[Jenny Gratus]], [[Valerie Miller]] and [[Diane Wilson]] were in the lead roles. [[Leon Gluckman]] presented [[Athol Fugard]]’s  ''[[The Blood Knot]]'' here in 1961. It starred [[Athol Fugard]] himself and [[Zakes Mokae]]. [Hosted the landmark 1963 ??? production of Athol Fugard’s The Blood Knot.] Leon Gluckman staged a revue, ''[[Wait a Minim!]]'' at the Intimate in 1962 with musicians Andrew and Paul Tracey, Kendrew Lascelles and Jeremy Taylor. Anthony Farmer was the set designer. Taubie Kushlick presented a revival of Noël Coward’s ''[[Blithe Spirit]]'', and ''[[The Private Ear and The Public Eye]]'', both directed by [[Peter Shaffer]] at the Intimate in 1964. PACT staged an [[Afrikaans]] translation of ''[[The Italian Straw Hat]]'' which François Swart directed at the Intimate in 1966. Ricky Arden directed Bartho Smit’s ''[[Die Man Met ‘n Lyk om Sy Nek]]'' and Frank Wedekind’s ''[[The Love Potion]]'' for PACT at the Intimate in 1966. Among the local actors kept in steady employment by these PACT productions were Siegfried Mynhardt, John Whiteley, Ronald Wallace, Arthur Hall, Kerry Jordan, Maureen McAllister and Shirley Firth. Shirley Firth and actor-director Angus Neill established The Stage Company and took a two year lease at the Intimate where their first production was a revival of André Roussin’s comedy ''[[The Little Hut]]'' circa 1966. Adam Leslie presented ''[[The Merry Minstrel Show]]'' here in September 1966. Angus McNeill and Shirley Firth staged their second production, ''[[The Creeper]]'', with Michael McCabe and John Hayter in 1967. The Neill/Firth company staged ''[[Caste]]'', starring Angus Neill, Adrian Egan, Elaine Lee and Arthur Hall in 1967. Neill renamed the show ''[[True Hearts Are More Than Coronets]]''. Shirley Firth holding lease to the Intimate, Pieter Toerien and Basil Rubin stepped forward as new management in 1969. Their first co-production was ''[[The Secretary Bird]]'' which was directed by Kerry Jordan and starred Jeremy Hawk, Shelagh Holliday, Ivan Berold and Firth. The new seating capacity of the revamped Intimate was 235. Toerien, Rubin and Firth staged Anthony Shaffer’s thriller ''[[Sleuth]]'', starring Ralph Michael and Nicholas Amer, and directed by Warren Jenkins at the Intimate circa 1970. Toerien-Firth presented ''[[Wait Until Dark]]'' starring Shirley Anne Field at the Intimate in 1972. Toerien/Firth presented the Francis Durbridge thriller ''[[Suddenly at Home]]'' and Royce Ryton’s ''[[Crown Matrimonial]]'' at the Intimate in 1973. The latter starred Owen Holder and Peggy Thorpe-Bates. They also brought [[Libby Morris]] to star in ''[[Just Libby]]'' in 1973. Toerien-Firth brought Muriel Pavlow, Robert Flemyng, Robert Beatty and [[Ron Smerczak]] to star at the Intimate in Terence Rattigan’s ''[[In Praise of Love]]'' in 1974. They also got John Fernald to direct Hildegard Neil in a revival of ''[[Private Lives]]'', and Heather Lloyd-Jones to star in Jerome Chodorov’s ''[[A Community of Two]]'', directed by Chodorov at the Intimate in 1974. A.R. Gurney’s ''[[Children]]'' with Erica Rogers, Sandra Duncan and Kim Braden was staged here in 1974. Toerien-Firth brought Maxine Audley and Richard Huggett with director Laurier Lister from England for ''[[Not Bloody Likely]]'' at the Intimate in 1975. They also brought Jeremy Hawk and Elspeth March for ''[[The Payoff]]'' in 1975. Toerien-Firth staged William Douglas-Home’s ''[[The Kingfisher]]'' here in 1977. Pieter Toerien staged the American mini-musical ''[[Starting Here, Starting Now]]'', directed by John Montgomery and starring Andre Hattingh, Denise Freeman and Richard Loring here in 1978. Toerien-Firth presented Anthony Marriott and John Chapmans’s ''[[Shut Your Eyes and Think of England]]'', directed by Roger Redfarn and starring Peter Blythe (later replaced by [[Simon Merrick]]). It ran here from 1978 to January 1979. Woody Allen’s ''[[Play it Again, Sam]]'' was staged here crca 1978. Toerien-Firth staged Royce Ryton’s ''[[The Unvarnished Truth]]'' with Michael Richard, Anthony Fridjhon, Nicholas Ellenbogen and Lynne White and directed by Joan Kemp-Welch in 1979. Hugh Leonard’s ''[[Da]]'', directed by Leonard Schach with Godfrey Quigley and Michael McGovern played here in 1979. Toerien-Firth staged Mark Camelotti’s ''[[Happy Birthday]]'' starring Clive Scott here in 1980. Toerien-Firth staged Andrew Davies’ ''[[Rose]]'' starring Sandra Duncan at the Intimate in 1980/1981. Tom Lehrer’s ''[[Tomfoolery]]'' starring Michael McGovern, Andre Hattingh, Tim Plewman and Jonathan Rands was staged here in 1981. Leslie Darbon’s ''[[Murder by Proxy]]'' starring James White, Yvonne Banning, Richard Cox and James Borthwick was staged here in 1981. Pieter Toerien presented Noël Coward’s ''[[Oh Coward]]'', directed by Freddie Carpenter with Richard Loring, Judy Page and Ronnie Stevens here in 1982. Pieter Toerien and Shirley Firth staged their last joint production here in 1982 namely the Baxter Theatre production of Robert Kirby’s ''[[It’s a Boy!]]'' starring Dale Cutts, Bo Petersen and James Irwin and directed by Keith Grenville.  A group called A Teater with Michal Grobbelaar as its chairman took over the lease of the Intimate in 1983. Their first production was Patrick Mynhardt’s ''[[The Boy from Bethulie]]''. Jill Gerard and Joyce Levinsohn’s new Children’s Theatre company staged their Easter holiday production, ''[[Tales of Beatrix Potter]]'' here in 1983. The Market’s ''[[Talley’s Folley]]'' was staged here in 1983. [[Children’s Theatre]] staged ''[[Jack and the Beanstalk]]'' starring Sue Kelly Christie, Michael Brunner, Drummond Marais and Kevin Feather here in July 1984. [[Roger Leclercq]] presented Jeremy Taylor’s ''[[Stuff]]'' here in 1984. [[Joyce Levinsohn]] and [[Jill Gerard]] staged ''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'' and ''[[Aladdin]]'' in 1986. [[Jill Gerard]]’s [[People’s Theatre]] presented ''[[Winnie the Pooh]]'' and ''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'' in 1991. ****
+Productions staged here over the years include:
-=== Sources ===
+: A group called A Teater with Michal Grobbelaar as its chairman took over the lease of the Intimate in 1983. Their first production was Patrick Mynhardt’s ''[[The Boy from Bethulie]]''. Jill Gerard and Joyce Levinsohn’s new Children’s Theatre company staged their Easter holiday production, ''[[Tales of Beatrix Potter]]'' here in 1983. The Market’s ''[[Talley’s Folley]]'' was staged here in 1983.
-Gosher, 1988;
+: [[Children’s Theatre]] staged ''[[Jack and the Beanstalk]]'' starring Sue Kelly Christie, Michael Brunner, Drummond Marais and Kevin Feather here in July 1984. [[Roger Leclercq]] presented Jeremy Taylor’s ''[[Stuff]]'' here in 1984.
-Tucker, 1997;
+: [[Joyce Levinsohn]] and [[Jill Gerard]] staged ''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'' and ''[[Aladdin]]'' in 1986.
-SACD 1975/76)[JH & SH]
+: [[Jill Gerard]]’s [[People’s Theatre]] presented ''[[Winnie the Pooh]]'' and ''[[The Wizard of Oz]]'' in 1991.
 ==[[The Intimate Theatre]], Cape Town==
@@ Line 51: / Line 85: @@
 ===Productions===
-===Sources===
+==Sources==
 = Return to =
 Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Venues|South African Theatre Venues, Companies, Societies, etc ]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:33, 2 September 2026
Line 1:		Line 1:
−	[[Intimate Theatre]] can refer to a theatre form/convention, as well as to the name of a theatre venue. There have been ~~several~~ venues in South Africa named [[Intimate Theatre]]: in Johannesburg, Pretoria (at the [[State Theatre]]) and Cape Town.	+	[[Intimate Theatre]] can refer to a theatre form/convention, as well as to the name of a theatre venue. There have been at least three venues in South Africa named [[Intimate Theatre]]: in Johannesburg, Pretoria (at the [[State Theatre]]) and Cape Town.

	=As a reference to a theatrical convention/form=		=As a reference to a theatrical convention/form=

@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 A performance space situated behind the [[Little Theatre]] on the [[Hiddingh Campus]] of the [[University of Cape Town]].
-For more information, see [[University of Cape Town Drama Department]].
+'''For more information, see [[University of Cape Town Drama Department]].'''
 ==The Intimate , [[State Theatre]], Pretoria==