St Stephen's Church - Revision history

Darryl: /* St Stephen's Anglican Church, Pinelands, Cape Town */

2026-05-29T15:52:30Z

St Stephen's Anglican Church, Pinelands, Cape Town

Darryl at 14:09, 28 May 2026

2026-05-28T14:09:38Z

Satj: /* History */

2025-07-16T03:46:06Z

History

Satj: /* Sources */

2025-06-26T15:07:40Z

Sources

Satj: /* Sources */

2025-06-26T15:07:01Z

Sources

Satj: /* Sources */

2025-06-26T15:06:48Z

Sources

Satj: /* St Stephen's Church Hall, New Brighton, Port Elizabeth */

2024-05-04T05:03:06Z

St Stephen's Church Hall, New Brighton, Port Elizabeth

Satj: /* St Stephen's Church Hall, New Brighton, Port Elizabeth */

2024-05-04T04:59:34Z

St Stephen's Church Hall, New Brighton, Port Elizabeth

Satj at 04:52, 4 May 2024

2024-05-04T04:52:06Z

Satj: /* History */

2024-05-04T04:50:04Z

History

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:52, 29 May 2026
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	Productions staged here include:		Productions staged here include:
		+
		+	1977: ''[[Dick Whittington]]''

	1978: ''[[Aladdin]]''		1978: ''[[Aladdin]]''

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-'''There are a number of churches in the country known by this name. Two in particular are of are of great importance in the history of South African theatre.'''
+'''There are a number of churches in the country known by this name. Three, in particular, are connected with the  history of South African theatre.'''
 They are:
 = [[St Stephen's Church]] on [[Riebeeck Square]], Cape Town=
@@ Line 29: / Line 33: @@
 ''In 1965 a Geoffrey Denis Kilpin, a former SA Airforce fighter pilot and owner of the farm Boesmansrug near Villiersdorp in the Western Cape, designed and had a smaller version of the original St Stephen's Church in Cape Town built on his farm, as a place of worship for his farm labourers.''
-==Sources==
+=St Stephen's Anglican Church, Pinelands, Cape Town=
-"St Stephen's Church", [[South African History Online|SAHO]] website[http://www.sahistory.org.za/places/st-stephens-church-riebeeck-square-cape-town]'''
+Productions staged here include:
-Gert van Lill. 2002. St.Stephen-kerk het kleinsus op Boesmansrug. ''Kultuur Kroniek'', ''[[Die Burger]]'' 9 November, 2002.
+: ''[[Aladdin]]''
-L.G. Latsky. 1992. "St Stephen's" In: ''Levensessens. P.S. Latsky: 'n Biografie'' (Privately published: pp. 18-24)
+: ''[[Cinderella]]''
-Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]
+: ''[[Old King Cole]]''
 = [[St Stephen's Church Hall]], New Brighton, Port Elizabeth=
@@ Line 47: / Line 53: @@
 ==Sources==
 Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 ==History==
-This is a church housed in one of the oldest custom-built theatre buildings in the Southern hemisphere. [[The African Theatre]], authorized and designed by the then British Governor, [[Sir George Yonge]], it was built on what was then known as the "[[Boerenplein]]" ("farmers' square"). Construction commenced in 1799 and the theatre was opened on 17th November 1800.
+This is a church housed in one of the oldest surviving custom-built theatre buildings in the Southern hemisphere. [[The African Theatre]], authorized and designed by the then British Governor, [[Sir George Yonge]], it was built on what was then known as the "[[Boerenplein]]" ("farmers' square"). Construction commenced in 1799 and the theatre was opened on 17th November 1800.
 It went on to serve as a theatre for about 35 years, but by 1838 had fallen into disuse under the pressure of the [[Anti-theatrical movement]] led by Methodist and Presbyterian churches, and the related [[Temperance Movement]]. As a result, the theatre building was thus sold in 1839 and the Presbyterian church rented the space to begin St Stephen's congregation there, with the support of the [[Dutch Reformed Church]]. It was intended as a church for freed slaves.

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 Gert van Lill. 2002. St.Stephen-kerk het kleinsus op Boesmansrug. ''Kultuur Kroniek'', ''[[Die Burger]]'' 9 November, 2002.
-L.G. Latsky. 1992. "St Stephen's" In: ''Levensessens. P.S. Latsky: 'n Biografie'' (Privately published)
+L.G. Latsky. 1992. "St Stephen's" In: ''Levensessens. P.S. Latsky: 'n Biografie'' (Privately published: pp. 18-24)
 Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:07, 26 June 2025
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	==Sources==		==Sources==

−	~~Latsky, L.G. 1992. "St. Stephens", in ''Levensessens: P.S. Latsky. 'n Biografie''. Privately published. (pp. 18-24).~~

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:06, 26 June 2025
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	==Sources==		==Sources==
		+
		+	Latsky, L.G. 1992. "St. Stephens", in ''Levensessens: P.S. Latsky. 'n Biografie''. Privately published. (pp. 18-24).

@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 = [[St Stephen's Church Hall]], New Brighton, Port Elizabeth=
-[[St Stephen's Church Hall]] (also referred to as '''[[St Stephen's Hall]]''') was built alongside [[St Stephen's Church]] in Gratten Street, New Brighton township, in 1963. Among many other activities, it was used as a [[venue]] for the staging of many of the [[Serpent Players]] apartheid-era protest productions, including ''[[Friday's Bread on Monday]]'', ''[[The Coat]]'', and ''[[The Last Bus]]''. The hall was packed to capacity for many of the productions.
+[[St Stephen's Church Hall]] (also referred to as '''[[St Stephen's Hall]]''') was built alongside [[St Stephen's Church]] in Gratten Street, New Brighton township, in 1963. Among many other activities, it was used as a [[venue]] for the staging of a number of the [[Serpent Players]] apartheid-era protest productions, including ''[[Friday's Bread on Monday]]'', ''[[The Coat]]'', and ''[[The Last Bus]]''. The hall was packed to capacity for many of the productions.
 In 2013 the hall was renamed the [[Douglas Ngange Mbopa Memorial Hall]].

← Older revision		Revision as of 04:52, 4 May 2024
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−	There are a number of churches in the country known by this name. Two in particular are of are of great importance in the history of South African theatre.	+	'''There are a number of churches in the country known by this name. Two in particular are of are of great importance in the history of South African theatre.'''

	They are:		They are:

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 In 1936, after the years of depression, the building was in a fairly poor condition and there was talk of selling it. The danger was averted for the time being through the intervention of various cultural organisations with the support of the Historical Monuments Commission.
-In 1949 a firm who proposed to build a parking garage on the site made an offer ten times the amount offered in 1936. Fortunately, however, it was saved because the area proved too small for the project and the City Council refused to sacrifice an extra nine metres of Riebeeck Square.
+In 1949 a firm who proposed to build a parking garage on the site made an offer ten times the amount offered in 1936. Fortunately, however, it was saved because the area proved too small for the project and the City Council refused to sacrifice an extra nine metres of Riebeeck Square. As a result, the church was able to retain the building pretty much as it was after 1824, so items like the stage and dressing rooms are still there, the latter having become the vestry. Even the shops below are still in use. Nothing of course has remained of its once elegant interior.
-The threat that the church might be demolished remained. It was only through persistence, tact and persuasion on the part of the incumbent the church leaders, among them Rev P.S. Latsky (who served for over 33 years, 1930-1955 and again 1961-1968), and others cultural leaders who fought for its preservation that the building was eventually declared a South African National Monument.
+Nevertheless, the threat that the church might be demolished remained. It was only through persistence, tact and persuasion on the part of the incumbent the church leaders, among them Rev P.S. Latsky (who served for over 33 years, 1930-1955 and again 1961-1968), and others cultural leaders who fought for its preservation that the building was eventually declared a South African National Monument.
 ''For more on the history of the St Stephen's Church as a '''theatre venue''', see the entry on '''[[The African Theatre]]''' in [[ESAT]], and for more on the building as a church, see the entry on the [[South African History Online|SAHO]] website[http://www.sahistory.org.za/places/st-stephens-church-riebeeck-square-cape-town]''