Difference between revisions of "African Consolidated Theatres"
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==International artists== | ==International artists== | ||
| − | 1913/1921: [[Frank Benson]] and his company toured South Africa and Rhodesia twice under the auspices of | + | 1913/1921: [[Frank Benson]] and his company toured South Africa and Rhodesia twice under the auspices of African National Theatres ([[African Consolidated Theatres]]?), once in 1913, and again in 1921, doing a series of Shakespeare plays/scenes from Shakespeare. |
1920s: The Neilson-Terry Company (a British theatrical company formed by Fred Terry and his wife Julia Neilson) toured South Africa under the auspices of [[ACT]]. | 1920s: The Neilson-Terry Company (a British theatrical company formed by Fred Terry and his wife Julia Neilson) toured South Africa under the auspices of [[ACT]]. | ||
Revision as of 12:27, 28 June 2026
African Consolidated Theatres (ACT) was a national theatre and film organization active in the country for much of the 20th century.
Also found as African Consolidated Theatres Ltd, but colloquially referred to simply as African Theatres or by its acronym: ACT.
Contents
Beginnings with African Theatres Trust
The African Theatres Trust was founded in 1913 by I.W. Schlesinger and A.H. Stodel (Harry Stodel), with the intention of saving the ailing theatre industry by organizing it nationwide. They pooled their resources to gradually gain control of theatres and cinema halls across the country and set about bringing out dramatic, musical and pantomime companies to tour their circuit.
According to Groom (in Bosman, 1980: p. 435) the Trust first made its presence felt in the country in 1911, though Percy Tucker (1997: ) says it was only founded in 1913.
African Consolidated Theatres (ACT)
Eventually this empire grew to encompass the mighty cinema industry as well and was renamed African Consolidated Theatres (or simply ACT) in 19**. Soon the company became central to the development of professional theatre and film in the country. It appears it continued to produce theatre until 1969.
Between 1920 and 1960 virtually no-one could play the cities without the support and involvement of ACT, or at least utilizing their facilities. The company bought the wardrobe of the Graaff-Reinet Amateur Dramatic and Musical Society upon its disbandment for £2000. In 1932 they contracted the Johannesburg REPS for a production of Dangerous Corner in His Majesty’s Theatre and in 1933 for one of Shaw’s Arms and the Man. In 1941, when the outbreak of war had seriously curtailed professional theatre in South Africa, African Theatres once again invited the REPS to take over the Standard Theatre, and from then till the end of war in 1945, almost all of its work was ceded to the REPS. They later collaborated with NTO on a number of projects as well.
African Consolidated Theatres was later sold to 20th Century Fox in the 1950s after Schlesinger's death.
Hymie Udwin was an executive at ACT for many years.
Productions
1920: The Sleeping Beauty
1921: The Sleeping Beauty
1922: Robinson Crusoe
1923: Robinson Crusoe
1931: Two Hanekom-Van Zyl Geselskap ("Hanekom-Van Zyl Company") productions: Wie is wie? and Die Silwer Koning
1932: Dangerous Corner (in association with Johannesburg Reps)
1933: Arms and the Man (in association with Johannesburg Reps)
1939: Robinson Crusoe
1940s: (date unknown) The Desert Song
1940: Night Must Fall, The Corn is Green
1941: Alice in Wonderland, Tosca (in association with John Connell), Jack and the Beanstalk
1942: The Sleeping Beauty
1943: Dick Whittington and his Cat
1944: Dick Whittington and his Cat, Cinderella, And So to Bed (in association with Munro-Inglis Company)
1945: The Peepshow of 1945, Tosca, Aladdin, Her Little Ladyship, While the Sun Shines, Full House (in association with Munro-Inglis Company)
1946: Robinson Crusoe, Die Kerkmuis (in association with Die Kunsteater)
1947: The Man in Half Moon Street (in association with Eric Egan and David Goldblatt)
1948: Oklahoma!
1949: Three Brian Brooke Company productions: Present Laughter, No Room at the Inn, The Heiress
1950: Brigadoon (Phil Levard's last production for ACT), Cinderella
1951: Don't Listen, Ladies!
1952: Dick Whittington
1955: Two Taubie Kushlick productions: The Desperate Hours and The Fifth Season
1958: The Pajama Game
1959: Bo Jungle (in association with Bertha Egnos)
1962: My Fair Lady
1964: The Moulin Rouge Show
1966: The Minstrel Scandals
1969: Fiddler on the Roof
1970: Non-Stop Minstrel Scandals
International artists
1913/1921: Frank Benson and his company toured South Africa and Rhodesia twice under the auspices of African National Theatres (African Consolidated Theatres?), once in 1913, and again in 1921, doing a series of Shakespeare plays/scenes from Shakespeare.
1920s: The Neilson-Terry Company (a British theatrical company formed by Fred Terry and his wife Julia Neilson) toured South Africa under the auspices of ACT.
1946: George Formby performed for ACT at the Colosseum Theatre.
1947: Imported Ivor Novello and his full company to tour his musical Perchance to Dream which appeared at His Majesty's Theatre.
1949: They imported Irving Berlin’s musical, Annie Get Your Gun (Jimmy Mackenzie was responsible for publicity at this time).
1954: ACT booked Danny Kaye, a stand-up comedian to play in Johannesburg; ACT brought Maurice Schwartz and his Yiddish Art Theatre Company from New York to His Majesty’s Theatre.
1955: ACT brought out Sir Edmund Hillary to give lectures at the Plaza Theatre.
1957: Bernard Delfont’s London version of the Folies Bergère
1964: They imported Lilac Time from Tom Arnold as part of the Johannesburg Festival; they presented Zizi Jeanmaire at the Empire Theatre in a large-scale revue; they also presented British comedian Bruce Forsyth.
1966: They brought The Seekers to the Colosseum Theatre,
1967: Together with George and Alfred Black, they presented Michael Bentine, Joe Baker and Jane Fyffe in Let Yourself Go during the Christmas season of 1967.
Venues
African Consolidated Theatres acquired a number of venues around South Africa. Some of these include:
- Opera House (Port Elizabeth)
- Palladium Theatre, Johannesburg
- Prince's Cinema (Durban)
Sources
D.C. Boonzaier. 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1923. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)
F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik.
Brian Brooke. 1978. My Own Personal Star: An Autobiography. Johannesburg: The Limelight Press.
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.
Temple Hauptfleisch. 1997. Theatre and Society in South Africa: Reflections in a Fractured Mirror. Pretoria: Van Schaik[1].
Loren Kruger 1999. The Drama of South Africa: Plays, Pageants and Publics Since 1910. London: Routledge.
Olga Racster. 1951. Curtain up! The story of Cape Theatre. Cape Town: Juta.
South African History Online "A History of the South African Film Industry timeline" 1895-2003, [2]
Stodel, Jack 1962. The Audience Is Waiting. Cape Town: Howard Timmins.
Percy Tucker. 1997. Just the Ticket. My 50 Years in Show Business. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press.
https://johannesburg1912.com/2013/07/29/theatres-in-early-johannesburg/
(For the plays done or supported by ACT, see Part 3, Sections 4a and 4b)
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