Hope Street Theatre

The Hope Street Theatre was a venue built in Hope Street, Cape Town in 18** and originally named the Liefhebbery Toneel, Liefhebbery Tooneel or Kaapsche Liefhebbery Tooneel by the founding company Tot Nut en Vermaak and some later companies (e.g. Vlyt en Kunst, ). Also referred to as the Amateur Theatre, or often bilingually as the Liefhebbery Tooneel-Amateur Theatre, depending on the company performing there.

It was later known as both the Hope Street Theatre (or Hoopstraat Skouburg in Dutch) and (from 1846, when it was overhauled) the Victoria Theatre, under which names it continued to exist until 1851. It was also briefly known as the Sans Souci Theatre in 1848, when Theatre de L’Union played there.

The Hope Street Theatre should however not be confused with another venue, also situated in Hope Street, and briefly used in 1849, which was known as Haupt’s Warehouse or Haupt's Theatre.

See also Liefhebbery Tooneel and Tot Nut en Vermaak

[TH, JH]

Sources

F.C.L. Bosman. 1928. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel I: 1652-1855. Pretoria: J.H. de Bussy. [1]: pp. 413, 419, 453, 482-484, 500, 502

F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1916. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik

P.J. du Toit. 1988. Amateurtoneel in Suid-Afrika. Pretoria: Academica

Jill Fletcher. 1994. The Story of Theatre in South Africa: A Guide to its History from 1780-1930. Cape Town: Vlaeberg.

P.W. Laidler. 1926. The Annals of the Cape Stage. Edinburgh: William Bryce.

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