St Stephen's Church

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:

St Stephen's Church on Riebeeck Square, Cape Town

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.

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.

In 1857 the Dutch Reformed Church bought the original structure and took over the congregation. This has made it the only Dutch Reformed Church named after a saint; and its congregation is the only Coloured congregation that formed part of the NG Kerk (the mother church), with full admission to its synod, under the old British and Apartheid regimes - since all other Coloured parishes of the N.G. Kerk belonged to the daughter or mission church.

The building, repeatedly menaced with demolition, was proclaimed a historical monument in 1965. Intermittent attempts have been made to raise funds for a necessary and extensive restoration of the historical building, particularly in the period between 2001 and 2010.

The St Stephen's Church was the first theatre or, as some of the Dutch speaking population called it, the first "komediehuis" in South Africa. During the first British occupation of the Cape the public, and especially the garrison, lacked an adequate venue for entertainments. The British Governor, Sir George Yonge, designed and authorized the building of a theatre. In 1799 construction of a theatre was started, on, what was then known as the "Boerenplein" ("farmers' square").

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. 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.

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 SAHO website[1]

Interesting aside:

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 Church", SAHO website[2]

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)

Go to ESAT Bibliography

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 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.

Sources

Go to ESAT Bibliography

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