Maynardville Open-air Theatre - Revision history

Darryl: /* The Productions */

2025-02-20T11:56:33Z

The Productions

Darryl: /* The Productions */

2025-02-20T11:33:06Z

The Productions

Darryl: /* The Productions */

2025-02-20T11:32:32Z

The Productions

Satj at 14:00, 8 March 2021

2021-03-08T14:00:11Z

Satj: /* Sources */

2021-03-08T13:57:45Z

Sources

Satj: /* Shakespeare in the Park */

2020-09-04T14:39:15Z

Shakespeare in the Park

Satj: /* Shakespeare in the Park */

2020-09-04T14:38:45Z

Shakespeare in the Park

Satj: /* Shakespeare in the Park */

2020-09-04T14:36:57Z

Shakespeare in the Park

Miriamt: /* The Productions */

2018-02-08T06:36:43Z

The Productions

Satj: /* The History of the Venue */

2017-02-02T06:17:35Z

The History of the Venue

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:56, 20 February 2025
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	2024 ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]''		2024 ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]''
		+
		+	2025: ''[[The Tempest]]''

	= Sources =		= Sources =

@@ Line 277: / Line 277: @@
 No production
-NO production
+No production
 ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''

@@ Line 250: / Line 250: @@
 ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' (play)
 ''[[Giselle]]'' (ballet)
@@ Line 264: / Line 266: @@
 ''[[Giselle]]'' (ballet)
 ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' (play)
 = Sources =

@@ Line 269: / Line 269: @@
 = Sources =
-[[Percy Tucker]], 1997
+[[Sheila Chisholm]] 2016. ''The founding of Maynardville Open Air Theatre'' (contains: "Maynardville performance chronology (1950 to 2015)") Unpublished document.  Used with the permission of the author.
 [[Donald Inskip]] 1976. ''The [[Maynardville]] Chronicle, 1956-1976''. Epping: Printpak.
-[[Sheila Chisholm]] 2016. ''The founding of Maynardville Open Air Theatre'' (contains: "Maynardville performance chronology (1950 to 2015)") Unpublished document.  Used with the permission of the author.
+[[Helen Robinson]]. 2005. ''Shakespeare at Maynardville''. Houghton House Wynberg, 2005.
 Interview with [[Sheila Chisholm]], 22 September, 2016.
@@ Line 280: / Line 282: @@
 http://www.maynardville.co.za/www/pages/index.php
 http://www.maynardville.co.za
@@ Line 294: / Line 294: @@
 http://mapmyway.co.za/ballet-giselle-maynardville/
 http://www.maynardville.co.za/www/pages/index.php

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:57, 8 March 2021
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	[[Percy Tucker]], 1997		[[Percy Tucker]], 1997
		+
		+	[[Donald Inskip]] 1976. ''The [[Maynardville]] Chronicle, 1956-1976''. Epping: Printpak.

	[[Sheila Chisholm]] 2016. ''The founding of Maynardville Open Air Theatre'' (contains: "Maynardville performance chronology (1950 to 2015)") Unpublished document. Used with the permission of the author.		[[Sheila Chisholm]] 2016. ''The founding of Maynardville Open Air Theatre'' (contains: "Maynardville performance chronology (1950 to 2015)") Unpublished document. Used with the permission of the author.

@@ Line 59: / Line 59: @@
 ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' opened in 1956 and ran to packed houses for a month, setting a precedent for others to follow. After those first performances the stage was altered and enlarged, to attain its current layout. In February 1958, the theatre was officially declared a permanent institution, by decision of the City Council (Robinson, 2005: p. 22).
-The tenth anniversary of the open air theatre was celebrated in 1964with three [[Leslie French]] productions: ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', ''[[The Taming of a Shrew]]'' and ''[[Hamlet]]''.
+The tenth anniversary of the open air theatre was celebrated in 1964with three [[Leslie French]] productions: ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' and ''[[Hamlet]]''.
 The Shakespeare play in the park thus became an annual event taking place every January-February, managed and facilitated by [[Cecilia Sonnenberg|Sonnenberg]] and [[René Ahrenson|Ahrenson]]. From the very outset there were special concessions and block bookings for school children. Often the play chosen was one of the examination set works, ensuring large attendance numbers. Furthermore, in a period when it was not an easy matter, the cast and audiences were always multi racial.

@@ Line 59: / Line 59: @@
 ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' opened in 1956 and ran to packed houses for a month, setting a precedent for others to follow. After those first performances the stage was altered and enlarged, to attain its current layout. In February 1958, the theatre was officially declared a permanent institution, by decision of the City Council (Robinson, 2005: p. 22).
-The Shakespeare play in the park was now an annual event taking place every January-February, managed and facilitated by [[Cecilia Sonnenberg]] and [[René Ahrenson]]. From the very outset there were special concessions and block bookings for school children. Often the play chosen was one of the examination set works, ensuring large attendance numbers. Furthermore, in a period when it was not an easy matter, the cast and audiences were always multi racial.
+To mark the tenth anniversary of the open air theatre in 1964, Rene and Cecilia presented three [[Leslie French]] productions: ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'', ''[[The Taming of a Shrew]]'' and ''[[Hamlet]]''.
 === [[CAPAB]] and [[Maynardville]] ===

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:36, 8 February 2018
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	2016 ''[[Giselle]]'' (ballet)		2016 ''[[Giselle]]'' (ballet)
		+
		+	2018 ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'' (play)

	= Sources =		= Sources =

@@ Line 33: / Line 33: @@
 == The History of the Venue ==
-Though there is a wide-held belief that the Maynardville theatre was founded in 1955 as the brainchild of the two professional actresses [[Cecilia Sonnenberg]] and [[René Ahrenson]], who would become the tireless administrators and public faces of the theatre for most of the early years, their energy and drive making it an internationally recognized venue for Shakespearean performance. However, the first use of the park as a general performance space actually predates the involvement of the actresses by six years, as [[Sheila Chisholm]] (2016) has shown.
+There is a wide-held belief that the Maynardville theatre was founded in 1955, and first used in 1956, as the brainchild of the two professional actresses [[Cecilia Sonnenberg]] and [[René Ahrenson]], who would become the tireless administrators and public faces of the theatre for most of the early years, their energy and drive making it an internationally recognized venue for Shakespearean performance. However, the first use of the park as a general performance space actually predates the involvement of the actresses by six years, as [[Sheila Chisholm]] (2016) has shown.
 The idea of creating a dedicated performance venue in a park in Cape Town was apparently first suggested by Mrs [[Margaret Molteno]], a member of the [[Athlone Committee]] for Nursery School Education, a fundraising institution for charitable causes on the Cape Flats, after a visit to the Regents Park Open Air Theatre in London during 1948. So when the Maynardville Villa grounds were declared a park "open to all" in 1949, it seemed an ideal venue to establish such a theatre for Cape Town. A committee was established to look into the matter, chaired by Mrs Molteno with [[Lorna Thompson]], [[Dulcie Cooper]], [[Jean Bernadt]], [[Margaret McKenzie]] and [[Ann Harris]] as members. The committee approached the Mayor of Cape Town, councilor Abe Bloomberg, with their idea and received his blessing to the use of the park without charge. (No doubt the fact that he was the father of the young impresario/director [[David Bloomberg]] and the husband of Miriam Bloomberg, a former ballerina, helped their cause.)