Twentieth Century

1899AD

First Hague Peace Conference. Boxer Rebellion in China and put down by European powers, USA and Japan. Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams. Gillette’s "Sherlock Holmes" in USA. Paul Kruger issues an ultimatum demanding the withdrawel of British troops from the Transvaal border. On October 11 the Anglo-Boer War (The South African War) starts. Sir Redvers Buller takes charge of British troops. Enoch Santonga writes “Nkosi Sikilel’ iAfrika”. The Mount Nelson Hotel opens in Cape Town. “Savage South Africa: show in London, as part of the Greater Britain Exhibition.. Luscombe Searelle’s Music Hall is taken over by Harry Stodel. Johannesburgse Toneelvereniging founded. The Wheelers open the Earl’s Court Garden Theatre.

1900AD

Victor Emmanuel becomes king of Italy. Plank’s quantum theory. Between 1899 and 1902 formal professional theatre largely comes to a standstill, although “entertainments” were no doubt arranged by the military in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Durban, and Boer prisoners organized “konserte” in the concentration camps. The foundation stone of the Cape Town City Hall laid on 25th August. Lord Roberts arrives in Cape Town as commander in chief. Kimberley relieved, OFS annexed, Pretoria occupied. Roberts returns. Resistance continues and Kitchener institutes scorched earth policy, introduces concentration camps. Kruger in exile. Labour party founded in Britain. Boxer Rebellion begins in China.

1901AD

Queen Victoria dies. Edward VII becomes king. Marconi’s transatlantic telegraph used for first time. Mann’s Buddenbrooks. First Nobel Prizes awarded. Boxing becomes a legal sport in Britain. Hemlines creep up to the ankle. First soluble “instant” coffee invented in USA. Strindberg’s A Dream Play Stephen Black’s Love and the Hyphen,, first really successful English play by a South African. The Empress Theatre in Pretoria renamed His Majesty’s Theatre. Emily Hobhouse visits the concentration camps in South Africa. The plague kills hundreds in S.A. Milner becomes High Commisioner responsible for the foremr Boer Republics. Boer Commandoes invade the Cape Colony. US President McKinley assasinated. Theodore Rooseveldt becomes president.

1902AD

Turn-ups in men’s trousers first appear. Kipling’s “Just So” stories. Gorky’s The Lower Depths Rayne returns to SA, followed by 12-year old Freda Godfrey (Florrie). She appears as Dr Watson’s daughter in Sherlock Holmes in Cape Town. Edgar Wallace’s An African Millionaire premiéred (unsuccessfully) by Rayne in Cape Town. First version of Stephen Black’s Love and the Hyphen performed. Mambretti of Cape Town imports first motor-cycle. Edgar Wallace becomes first editor of the new Rand Daily Mail, replacing the old Standard and Digger’s News. Cecil John Rhodes dies in Muizenberg, aged 47. The Peace of Vereeniging ends the Anglo-Boer War. The Boer generals visit Europe in an effort to raise funds for the Boers who lost everything. Milner and his “kindergarten” start restoration work, including efforts at Anglicization of South Africa. Rhodes dies aged 49. Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria and Italy) renewed again for 6 years.

1903AD

First flight by Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. First major clashes in the Suffragette movement in London. The first formal narrative movie: Edwin Porter’s The Great Train Robbery. Britain sets a 20 MPH speed limit for cars. His Majesty’s Theatre opens in Johannesburg. The Tivoli Theatre of Varieties opened in Cape Town by De Jong & Logan. The cultural journal De Goede Hoop established, publishing plays. As part of the general Afrikaenr cultural revival, Die Tweede Taalbeweging (the “Second Language Movement”) begins. First serious motor accident in SA: the Johannesburg express hits a car at the Maitland crossing, Cape Town. Lord Milner creates his own legislative assembly in Transvaal.

1904AD

Trans-Siberian railway completed between Moscow and Vladivostok. A woman arrested in NewYork for smoking in public. Royal Academy of Dramatic Art formed in London. The Abbey Theatre opens in Dublin. Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. First Barker/Vedrenne season at the Royal Court in London First farces by Melt Brink published. President Kruger dies in Switzerland, buried in Heroes Acre, Pretoria. Chinese Labourers imported for the Transvaal mines. Meetings of protest in England. Massive floods in Cape Town and Bloemfontein. Deneys Reitz returns to South Africa. Rhodes University evolves from St Andrew’s College. Jamieson prime minister of Cape Colony. Russo-Japanese war begins. Entente Cordiale signed between Britain and France.

1905AD

Einsrtein’s Special Theory of Relativity published. Shaw’s Man and Superman. Max Reinhardt heads Deutsches Teater Berlin. Meyerhold at the Moscow Art Theatre The Cape Town City Hall opens. The Cullinan Diamond, the largest ever foud, discovered in Transvaal. Het Volk formally established by Louis Botha and Jan Smuts. Revolution breaks out in Russia on “bloody Sunday”. Japan defeats Russia in the naval battle of Tshusima Strait. IRA founded in Dublin.

1906AD

World’s first radio broadcast of music and the voice at Brant Rock, Mass. The San Francisco earthquake kills 450. The permanent wave introduced by a London hairdresser. Picasso’s Demoiselles d’Avignon. Lily Langtry in The Degenerates in Cape Town. The Grand Theatre opens in Bloemfontein. Paul Roos’s rugby team the first to wear the Springbok emblem when they play in Britain. Electric trams replace horse-drawn trams in Johannesburg. The first issue of the Sunday Times appears. The Carlton Hotel opens in Johannesburg. The British government grants responsible government to the Transvaal. Zulu riots in Natal. Mahatma Ghandi initiates the passive resistance movement among Indians in South Africa. Revolution in Persia leads to a constitutional monarchy.

1907AD

Bergson’s Creative Evolution. Baden-Powell founds the Boy Scouts movement in Britain. Riots at opening of Synge’s Playboy of the Western World in Dublin. Strindberg & Falck open the Intimate Theatre in Stockholm Afrikaans-Hollandse Toneelvereniging founded in Pretoria by Gustav Preller and Harm Oost. Oost’s Ou Daniël performed. Langenhoven's Die Trouwbelofte and Die Water Zaak published. Percy FitzPatrick’s Jock of the Bushveld. Andrew Jephta of SA the first coloured man to hold a boxing title in Britain. The Transvaal Govt. sends back 50,000 Chinese. The British government grants responsible government to the OFS. Het Volk and the English Nastionalists coalition victorious in Tranvaal and Botha becomes Prime Minister. Abraham Fischer becomes prime minister in the OFS. Ghandi leads Transvaal Indians in passive resistance. Colonial Conference in London.

1908AD

Sorel’s Reflections on Violence. Henry Ford produces the Model T. Stephen Black’s Love and the Hyphen produced at the Tivoli, Cape Town. First motor show in South Africa held at The Wanderers, Johannesburg. SA’s 1st participation at the Olympic Games in London. Sprinter Reggie Walker gets gold. John X. Merriman prime minister in the Cape Colony. First sitting of the National Convention. Ghandi leads the protest against pass laws with the burning of passes on 16th August in Newtown, Jhb. Young Turks’ rebellion seeks to rejuvenate the Ottoman Empire. The Congo Free State becomes the Belgian Congo. Lord Asquith prime minister of Britain.

1==909AD== Bleriot flies across English Channel. Bakelite invented in USA. Peary reaches the North Pole. T.H. Morgan begins research in genetics at Columbia. G.P. Baker’s 47 Workshop at Harvard Royal Hotel in Durban re-built. First powered flight in SA by visiting Frenchman Kimmerling at Nahoon racecourse, East London. 30 March 1909 - SA colonies meet to consider and adopt the South Africa Act, which leads to the Union of South Africa Howard Taft president in the USA

1910AD

Halley’s comet appears. John Buchan’s Prester John. Mount Etna erupts. Stravinsky’s Firebird. The Wheeler brothers leave Cape Town. The Pageant of Union takes place in Cape Town. Black’s Helena’s Hope produced. South Africa’s car population is 2000. South African Railways and Harbours Administration established. The Union of South Africa created. And the Constitution accepted. Louis Botha’s Party wins the election and he becomes the first Prime Minister. Portugal’s monarchy overthrown. King Edward VII dies, his son George V succeeeds.

1911AD

Rutherford’s model of the nuclear atom. Amundsen reaches the South Pole. Craig’s On the Art of the Theatre published. Richard Strauss writes Der Rosenkavalier. Rayne and Godfrey in The Drummerboy of the 76th. The Cape Town Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society founded. Marie Lloyd appears in SA, brought out by Harry Stodel. The suffragist pageant, The Pageant of Great Women (by Cecily Hamilton) , produced in Johannesburg. Langenhoven's series of short plays, including Die Tweetalige Vonnis and Die Kys about die Forro published and Die Familie Zaak performed in Oudtshoorn. First wholly SA built aircraft flown by John Weston at Kimberley. J.P. Souza Band visits SA. South African National Party (later SAP) formed, in opposition to the Unionist Party. Italy declares war against Turkey and attacks Tripoli.. Winston Churchillbecomes first Lord of the Admirality in Britain.

1912AD

First successful para chute jump by US Army Captain Albert Berry. Scott reaches South Pole, but dies on way back. SS Titanic sinks. Lilian Bayless runs Old Vic. Paderwski and H.B. Irving visit SA. Matheson Lang and Hutin Britton arrive to play a season of Shakespeare. C.J. Langenhoven’s Die Hoop van Suid-Afrika (“The Hope of South Africa”) performed in Bloemfontein. South Africa gets its own defence force. The South African Native National Congress is formed in Bloemfontein. Balkan wars begin.. Treaty of Lausanne signed between Italy and France.

1913AD

D.H. Lawrence’s Sons and Lovers. Proust’s A la Recherchedu temps perdu (Vol. 1). Panama Canal completed. Birmingham Rep Theatre formed. Copeau opens Thèâtre du Vieux Colombier in Paris. “Draft Entertainments Bill” is passed, demanding that places of entertainment have to be licensed. Bella Donna opens in Cape Town, starring Muriel Alexander. The Thomas Quinton Opera Co. visits SA. I.W. Schlesinger forms the African Theatres Trust. For Unkulunkulu’s Sake performed in USA. Langenhoven's Die Hoop van Suid-Afrika and F.E Cilliers's Heldinne van die Oorlog performed on 16 December. The Pier Bandstand and Concert Hall opened in Cape Town. First definitive issue Union Stamps. African Mirror, an actuality film newsreel, is launched. The Johannesburg Market Building completed. Ghandi launches a passive resistance campaign. Imperial Troops are mobilized against strikeing miners on the Witwatersrand. A judicial enquiry leads to recognition of Trade Unions. The Natives Land Act passed, reserving certain areas of land for “natives” only. London Peace Treaty ends second Balkan War. British suffragetist Emily Davidson is killed when she runs in front of the King’s horse at Epsom. Woodrow Wilson becomes US president.

1914AD

Matisse’s Les Poissons rouges. First films by Charlie Chaplin. Panama Canal opened to traffic. Tairov becomes director of Moscow Kamerny Theatre Everyone in uniform let into Leonard Rayne shows free. Entertainment Tax introduced. Cape Town Municipal Orchestra founded. Foster gang trapped in a cave and commit suicide. The Kimberley “Big Hole” closed for further mining. SA troops under Louis Botha invades German South West Africa at request of the British. Rebellion against war involvement led by former generals of Transvaal and Free State. De La Rey shot, De Wet arrested. Smuts crushes rand mine strikes using commandos, leaders banished, Jopie Fourie executed. Indian Relief act passed and Smuts-Ghandi agreement ends passive resistance. Ghandi returns to India. Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated at Sarajevo and World War I begins. Zeppelins carry out first air raids in Britain. Battle of the Marne.

1915AD

Provincetown Players formed in USA. Di Voortrekkers (film) made by African Theatres. L. Rayne forms a Grand New Musical Company to tour The King of Cadonia etc. Various entertainments held to promote recruitment and raise funds for the war effort. The Graaff-Reinetse Letterkundige en Toneelvereniging founded. Nasionale Pers founded in Cape Town. Di Burger, its newspaper, is to become the mouthpiece of the new National Party. Germany surrenders unconditionally to SA troops in German SWA. The Cape Coloured Corps is formed. Junkers designs first fighter plane in Germany. Germans sink a British ocean liner, the “Lusitania” L Asquith heads a coalition government in Britain. Battle of Gallipoli. Poison Gas used for first time.

1916AD

Einstein’ s General Theory of Relativity published. First woman elected member of US Congress. Maragret Sanger jailed in New York for opening a birth control clinic. Rasputin killed. Ether Irving and Gilbert Porteau in SA. L.Rayne produces Kismet. Muriel Alexander founds the Alexander School of Drama and Elocution Die Huisgenoot magazine launched. De Voortrekkers premiéres. Die Afrikaner Koffiehuis opens in Cape Town. First SA troops reach Nairobi, Smuts Commander in Chief, Imperial Army, East Africa. SA Brigade loses thousands of men at Delville Wood. Battle of Verdun. Battle of the Somme, where 1.3 million men on both sides are lost. Easter Rebellion in Dublin suppressed by British. Lloyd George heads coalition Government.

1917AD

Freud’s Introduction to Psychoanalysis. The Zipper patented in the US. Berthe Goudvis’s A Husband for Rachel produced by the Jewish Guild. Brieux’s Damaged Goods produced by Stephen Black. USA and China enter war against Germany.The Turkjs take Jerusalem. Czar Nicholas II abdicates and Kerensky declares a Republic in Russia. The October Revolution overthrows Kerensky and Lenin becomes Chairman, with Trotsky and Stalin assisting.

1918AD

US Post Office burns issues of a newspaper (Little Review) containing parts of James Joyce’s Ullyses. Spanish Flu sweeps the world. Theatre Guild formed in New York. Habima Theatre in Moscow opens. Meyerhold directs Mayakovsky’s Mystery Bouffe in Moscow. L.Rayne produces Milestones with Martha van Hulsteyn. She leaves SA to attain success in England as Marda Vanne. Theatres closed by the flu epidemic (“Die groot Griep”). Rayne and Godfrey in The Royal Divorce. Rayne dies. African Consolidated Theatres buy His Majesty’s Theatre in Pretoria and convert it to The Capitol??** Langenhoven writes Die Stem van Suid-Afrika. Founding of the Gamma Sigma debating societies. An armistice is signed, formally ending the First World War. US President Wilson proposes the Fourteen Points, precursior of the League of Nations.Czar Nicholas and family executed. Poland becomes a Republic, Yugoslavia and Czechoslavia gain independence.

==1919AD== First non-stop Atlantic flight by Alcock and Whitten-Brown. Violent race riots in Chicago. Cape Town Reps founded. Muriel Alexander produces Euripides’s The Trojan Women in Pretoria Town Hall (first Greek classical play performed in SA). Johannesburg Operatic and Dramatic Society (JODS) formed. South African Aerial Transports run by Major Miller, first airline to operate in SA. Louis Botha dies, succeeded as prime minister by Jan Smuts. Treaty of Versailles signed, containing a harsh program of reparation. The German Worker’s Party formed in Germany. Amitsar massacre of Ghandi’s followers in India

1920AD

World’s first radio broadcasting station in Pittsburgh, USA. American women get the right to vote. Beginning of Prohibition in USA. Eugene O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones. The first Saltzburg Festival. Gémier founds Thèâtre National Populaire. Harry Lauder tours SA. Rent control introduced in the Union. Van Ryneveld and Brand complete first flight from London to Cape Town. League of Nations formally constituted. Palestine becomes a British mandate. Government of Ireland act provides for two separate parliaments for North and South.IRL founded by Michael Collins. Ghandi emerges as India’s leader in the struggle for independence. End of Russian Civil war. Irish Republican Army formed. The German Worker’s Party becomes the National Socialist (NAZI) Party.

1921AD

Death of Caruso. Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author. Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid (his first full-length) Karel Capek’s R.U.R first performed. Massacre of the “Israelites” settlement at Bulhoek near Cradock. South West Africa granted a nominated advisory council, representing South Africans and Germans. Hitler’s Storm Troops harrass opponents. Washington Naval Conference decides to limit arms expansion.

1922AD

Discovery and opening of Tutankhamen’s Tomb at Luxor. British Boradcasting Corporation (BBC) established. First Reader’s Digest published in USA. Insulin used for the first time to treat diabetes. John Barrymore plays Hamlet in London Muriel Alexander produces Troades in Johannesburg. [Factory vrouwens??] The mine riots put down by Smuts, killing 230 people in the process. Southern Rhodesia chooses responsible government under Britain, rather than join Union of SA. Mustapha Kemal (Ataturk) begins reforms, leading to the Republic of Turkey.Mussolini’s Blackshirts march on Rome and he becomes prime minister of the new Fascist government.Egypt gains independence from Britain as the Kingdom of Egypt.Irish Free State constituted.Ghandi imprisoned for 6 years.

1923AD

First English FA Cup final played at Wembley. Earthquake in Tokyo and Yokohama kills 140,000 people. Hitler’s Mein Kampf written while in jail. Moscow Art Theatre in New York. Boleslavsky and Ouspenskaya found New York Laboratory Theatre. Shaw’s Saint Joan. Louis Leipoldt’s Die Heks (The Witch). First radio broadcasts by the South African Railways. Union Parliament passes the Natives (Urban Areas) Act. German Nationals in SWA become British subjects. Southern Rhodesia formally annexed by Britain as self-governing colony. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) established. Hitler attempts overthrow of Bavarian Governement and arrested. Mussolini establishes a one-party Fascist state in Italy. Ruhr Valley occupied by French and Belgian troops. Turkey becomes a republic under Atatürk.

1924AD

More than half the cars in the world are Model T Fords. André Breton publishes the Surrealist Manifesto. Lenin dies. Sean O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock The first published play in Xhosa, uNongqause by Mary Waters. Lenie by Fagan produced. Belgian actor/director Paul de Groot arrives in South Africa. Regular radio broadcasts begin in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. Industrial Conciliation Act passed. Bantu Mens’s Social Club (BMSC) founded in Johannesburg. Smuts’s government falls and is replaced by a Nationalist-Labour coalition, with Hertzog as prime minister.

1925AD

Cosmic radiation identified by Millikin. Contract Bridge invented by Harold Vanderbilt. Empire Exhibition held at Wembley, London. Teaching of Darwin’s theory of evolution banned in Tennessee, USA. Pirandello opens Theatre of Art in Rome. Chaplin’s The Gold Rush. Oorskotjie (Scampolo by Niccodemi), Leipoldt’s Die Heks and Huis Toe (Sudermann's Heimat) in Afrikaans. Imfene kaDebeza Neminye Imidlalwana ("Debeza's Baboon") by Guybon B. Sinxo published in Xhosa, the first published play in a South African indiginous language. First Afrikaans professional companies founded: the Paul de Groot Company and Hanekom's Die Afrikaanse Toneelspelers. Wena Naude begins her career. Afrikaans declared an official language in the place of Dutch. French motorists reach Cape Town from Algiers. Prince of Wales tours SA. First sports broadcast from Newlands rugby ground. Von Hindenburg becomes President of Germany. Locarno Pact signed inSwitzerland, to guarantee the non-violation of European frontiers.

1926AD

First liquid fuel rocket is launched by physicist Goddard in USA. AndreA. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh. Death of Rudolph Valentino. First woman swims the English Channel. First blue jeans produced by H.D. Lee Co. J.F.W. Grosskopf’s As die tuig skawe (If the Halter Chafes). The Hanekom and De Groot companies amalgamate as the Paul de Groot Toneelgeselskap. Do Huis Toe (Sudermann) and Gerieflike Huwelik (Dumas Snr). Gert Borstlap begins his career and is renamed "André Huguenet". Grasfontein Gold Rush attracts 25,000 men. Herman Charles Bosman condemned to death for shooting his step-brother. S.A. Government formally announces the need for a new national flag. Joseph Stalin begins his leadershhip of the USSR.

1927AD

Lindbergh completes first non-stop solo trans-Atlantic flight in the Spirit of St Louis. The last Model T Ford manufactured. Oil discovered in northern Iraq. The Jazz Singer is shown. The Johannesburg Reps founded by Muriel Alexander. Metetwa Lucky Stars, first troupe of Black actors, formed. “Talkies” – shorts shown after the silent feature film – are shown by Kinemas S.A. Carnegie Foundation agrees to fund a study of the “poor white” problem. The Herbers open their shop Greatermans in Brakpan. Cohen and Miller open the first OK Bazaars in Johannesburg. The Schlesinger Organization forms the African Broadcasting Corporation. The first tourists enter the Kruger National Park.

1928AD

The Latin alphabet adopted in Turkey. Fleming discovers penicillin. Amelia Earhart first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. Graf Zeppelin arrives in New York on its first commercial flight. D.H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover published privately in Italy, banned in Britain. Oxford English Dictionary published in 12 volumes. The Abbey Theatre rejects O’Casey’s The Silver Tassie. Paul Robeson in Kern’s Showboat. Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera. Mickey Mouse is born. First published play in Southern Sotho :Pitso ea linonyana (Sekese) First radio drama broadcast by ABC: The Marriage will not Take Place (Sutro). Hanekom and De Groot split, De Groot tours Haar Twede Man (Géraldy). Johannesburg Reps first production, R.U.R (Capek). Krugersdorp Dramatic and Operatic Club founded. SA Iron and Steel Industrial Corporation founded. New SA flag shown for first time, next to Union Jack. Rugby test matches broadcast for the first time in SA. Chiang Kai-shek elected President of China, after conquering Peking. Kellog-Brand Pact denoundcing war signed by 65 countries.

1929AD

Wall Street crash heralds the Great Depression. Graf Zeppelin airship completes first around the world flight. Hypertension and heart disease linked for the first time by Levine. The first tape recorder, the Blattnerphone, invented by Blattner. Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front. First crease resistant fabrics by Tootals of St Helens, England. Norman Bel Geddes directs Hamlet in New York De Groot tours Geleende Geld (The Doll House by Ibsen).Isaac and Esau Mthethwa form the Lucky Stars. The variety group African Own Entertainers founded. Federasie van Afrikaanse Kultuurvereniginge (FAK) – a federation of Afrikaans cultural organizations - formed, to co-ordinate and promote Afrikaans cultural activities. Deneys Reitz’s Boer war journal, Commando, is published. A government subsidy allows Major Miller to float Union Airways, a regular airmail and passenger service. Herbert Hoover president in USA, Ramsay Macdonald in second term as Prime Minister in Britain.

1930AD

General depression sets in world wide. The planet Pluto is discovered. Amy Johnson first woman to fly solo from Britain to Australia. British Airship 101 crashes and burns in France. Constantinople renamed Istanbul by Atatürk. Gielgud plays Hamlet for the first time African Film Productions produces its first “talkies”. Ampie (Van Bruggen) opens in Opera House, Pretoria, starring André Huguenet. A huge success. The Red Robe by Brieux produced by the Johannesburg Reps. South African white women get the vote. Haile Salassie becomes Emperor of Ethiopia. Ghandi leads a civil disobedience campaign in India, seeking independence from Britain..

1931AD

Atomic energy research pioneered at Columbia University, USA and they announce discovery of heavy water. Empire State Building in New York opened. Britain and SA off the gold standard. The Group Theatre formed in the USA. Habima moves from Moscow to Tel Aviv. The Little Theatre in Cape Town opens with a production of The Seagull by Chekhov. Huguenet tours the controversial racial play Mal Hans. SA off gold standard. First records produced by the Singer Gramophone Co. Ellis Park becomes venue for SA Tennis Championships. Maize exports drop drastically. Eisteddofdau established for Africans. A Spanish Republic constituted when the King is driven into exile.

1932AD

Cockroft and Walton split the atom. James Chadwick discovers the neutron. Sydney’s Harbour Bridge opened. Artaud’s First Manifesto of the Theatre of Cruelty. The old Tivoli Theatre in Cape Town demolished. The Bantu World , a black journal, is established in Johannesburg. Imperial Airways begins a regular London-CapeTown service. A Terraplane car wins the race with the Union Express on the Johannesburg-Cape Town run.

1933AD

Frequency Modulation (FM) developed for radio. Brecht and many others leave Germany Bantu Dramatic Society (BDS) formed by H.I.E. Dhlomo and his essay “The Importance of African Drama” published. She Stoops to Conquer performed by the BDS. The country prays for rain in the Big Drought. The National Party and the South African Party form a coalition under Smuts.

1934AD

German Navy conducts first practical radar tests. Bonnie and Clyde die in a gun battle. Kaapstadse Amateur Toneelvereniging (KAT) founded in Cape Town. A “dramatic display” by R. and H. Dhlomo, put on as part of Emancipation Centenary Celebration The Little Theatre in Cape Town enlarged to 300 seats. The Hendrik Hanekom Toneelskool founded in Bloemfontein. The Wena Naudé-Van Zyl Toneelgeselskap founded. ISCOR produces its first steel. Emancipation Centenary Celebration (3 June) in BMSC, Johannesburg. The United Party founded by Smuts and Hertzog.

1935AD

English physicist Watt devises radar to detect aircraft. Persia changes its name to Iran. Sir Malcolm Campbell in Bluebird sets his first world land speed record at Daytona. Nylon is developed in the USA. T.S.Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral. Olivier’s first Shakespearean roles. Odets’s Waiting for Lefty. Federal Theatre Project founded in USA H. Dhlomo’s Nonqause the Liberator: The Girl who Killed to Save published. Lady Windermere’s Fan performed by BDS. The Ons Teatertjie Toneelgroep founded in Pretoria.

1936AD

BBC introduces the world’s first television service. Penguin Books revolutionize publishing with their 6d paperbacks. Turing’s paper “On Computable Numbers” and Zuse’s programmable calculator begin computer age. Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. Living Newspaper Ethiopia banned in USA. An African Entertainment is presented by Darktown Strutters at the Empire Exhbition. The Mthethwa Lucky Stars also perform. The Hairy Ape by O’Neill produced by the Bantu People’s Theatre. R.U.R. by Karel Capek produced by Johannesburg Reps. The Little Theatre or Library Theatre opened in Johannesburg. Ons Teatertjie Toneelgroep renamed Volksteater South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) established. Eugene Marais commits suicide. Robert Broom’s first discoveries at Sterkfontein Caves. The Empire Exhibition and the Johannesburg Golden Jubilee take place. Sir Patrick Duncan, first SA born Governor General. United Party under Hertzog places blacks on a separate voter’s roll.

1937AD

Death of George Gershwin. Golden Gate bridge completed in San Francisco. The airship Hindernburg destroyed by fire. Amelia Earhart disappears over the Pacific ocean. Xerography pioneered by in New York by Chester Carlson who developed a dry-copying process. Frank Whittle develops the jet engine in England. SABC broadcasts in Afrikaans. The song “Sarie Marais” printed. JSE booms, but unemployment high. Die Transvaler newspaper founded, (ed H.F. Verwoerd). Reclamation of land on Cape Town foreshore. Philip Nel’s Springbok rugby team victorious in New Zealand. Zulu Cultural Society founded.

1938AD

Biro brothers design the ball-point pen. First nuclear fusion in Germany by Hahn and Stassman. Howard Hughes sets round the world record. The Volkswagen is designed by Porsche and goes into production. Wilder’s Our Town. Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (first full-lenghth feature cartoon) Federation of Amateur Dramatic Societies of South Africa (FATSSA) founded in Krugersdorp by P.P.B.Breytenbach. The Voortrekker Centenary pageant, Voortrekker Koppie, 16 December. Die Dieper Reg (Van Wyk Louw) performed on the occasion. Moshoeshoe by Dhlomo performed in ***. Symbolic ox-wagon trek to commemorate the 1838 Great Trek. “Die Stem” sung at the opening of Parlianment, together with “God Save the King”. L.B.J. Smith identifies a recently caugh coelacanth. The Ossewa Brandwag founded in the OFS. The symbolic Ossewa Trek (Ox-wagon trek) becomes a political rallying point for the Afrikaner and the Afrikaner culture.

1939AD

Development of DDT in Switzerland. The Pan American Airlines “Yankee Clipper” inaugurates transatlantic air travel. Heinkel HE178, first jet aircraft. Pius XII becomes pope. Fedral Theatre Project stopped. Gone with the Wind screened. The Marda Vanne and Gwen ffrançon-Davies Co formed. Dhlomo’s Moshoeshoe and Ruby & Frank performed. Sekhona sa jwala (T.M. Mofokeng), considered the first formal play in Southern Sotho to be published. The Huguenot Festival, celebrating the centenary of the coming of the French settlers. 4 April 1939 - Hugh Masekela, South African musician, is born Union of South Africa declares war on Germany. Smuts becomes prime minister.

1940AD

World’s largest passenger liner built in England and used as troop ship. First electron microscope developed in USA. Discovery of the Lascaux Caves in France. The Rh factor in blood is identified in USA. First nylon stockings go on sale in USA. Union Defence Force (UDF) Entertainment Unit founded. Africa – A Revel Pageant depicts “march of progress of the Bantu” BPT Drama Festival at the BMSC. Modjadji, first play published in Northern Sotho. First production of Die Wildsboudjie by Volksteater, Pretoria. The SABC begins to broadcast in African languages.

1941AD

African National Theatre festival at Gandhi Hall, Fordsburg, including a play on the pass laws by Gaur Radebe. Dhlomo writes The Workers. Tshuduku by E.K.K. Matlala (The second play to be published in Northern Sotho.) SABC introduces Zulu slots in its radio broadcasts. (These include radio dramas)

1942AD

First controlled, self-sustaining nuclear reaction in USA. First “Golden Record” given to Glenn Miller. Oxfam founded by Gilbert Murray. Johannesburgse Afrikaanse Amateur-toneelvereniging (JAATS) founded. Deneys Reitz becomes SA High Commissioner in England. Ossewa Brandwag members arrested and interred at Koffiefontein. SA soldiers captured at Tobruk.

1943AD

Hallucinogenic effects of LSD discovered in Switzerland. The world’s first formal computer (Harvard Mark 1). Streptomycin discovered in USA. Glasgow Citizen’s Theatre founded. Oklahoma! Opens its 2,248 night run in New York. Sartre’s The Flies. Barrault directs Claudel’s The Satin Slipper in Paris. Dhlomo writes The Pass.

1944AD

Chief Above and Chief Below (Masinga) broadcast in Zulu by SABC, with music by Masinga “edited” by Hugh Tracey. African National Congress Youth League is founded

1945AD

George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Gerhard Beukes’s first play, Laat die Kerse Brand, published. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) founded. 1946AD National Health Service introduced in Britain. Spock’s book on baby-care appears. The “Bikini” swimsuit is designed 4 days after the US A-bomb test on Bikini Island. Brian Brooke begins his professional repertory company at the Hofmeyr Theatre, Cape Town.

1947AD

“The New Look” by Dior in Paris. The Kon-Tiki expedition undertaken by Heyderdahl. First commercial micro-wave oven. The “Dead Sea Scrolls” discovered. Princess Elizabeth marries the Duke of Edinburgh. First Edinburgh Festival. Old Vic school founded. Williams’s A Streetcar named Desire. Actor’s Studio founded in New York. Beck and Malina found The Living Theatre. Brecht’s Galileo starring Laughton. Jean Vilar directs first Avignon Festival. Piccolo Theatre opens in Milan Hamlet performed in Afrikaans to enormous acclaim. The National Theatre Organizaton (NTO) founded with state subsidy, under the directorship of P.P.B. Breytenbach. Its headquarters is Pretoria. King George VI and family visit South Africa. Lourenço Marques radio taken over by Davenport and Meyer and begins broadcasts to SA. SA annexes Marion Island.

1948AD

Transistor developed at Bell Laboratory. UN’s World Health Organization founded in Geneva. Honda Motorcycle introduced. First long-playing record intorduced by CBS. Olympic Games held in London (first since 1936). Seretse Khama marries an English girl in Bechuanaland (Botswana). Joseph Svoboda appointed chief designer, National Theatre, Prague. Nairobi African Dramatic Society founded in Nigeria. Alan Paton’s Cry the Beloved Country. Zulu radio drama Izinkwa (Twala) broadcast by SABC. The Nationalist Party wins the elction under DF. Malan. SA annexes Prince Edward Island.

1949AD

Chloromycetin patented by Parke, Davis, used against typhoid. Protein fibre made from soya developed by Boyer in USA. Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Brecht founds the Berliner Ensemble. Dancers Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin tour SA. SA Atomic Energy Board constituted. The Voortrekker Monument is inaugurated. Jim Comes to Jo’Burg (film by Donald Swanson) released.

1950AD

Ionesco’s The Bald Primadonna. George Bernard Shaw dies at 94. The Cockpit Players formed by Leonard Schach. Bilingual commercial “Springbok Radio” begins broadcasts. Jamie Uys’s first film Daar doer in die Bosveld released in colour. Vic Toweel becomes world bantamweight champion in boxing. The first commercial radio broadcasts since the SABC act of 1936 by *** SA’s 2nd Air Force Squadron (The “Flying Cheetahs”) sent to Korea. Jan Smuts dies at Irene. Riots in Johannesburg as blacks oppose the new government’s separatist policies.

1951AD

Electricity by nuclear energy in USA. First commercial colour TV broadcast in New York. J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. Foundation stone of the National Theatre laid in London. Jean Vilar director of Thèâtre National Populaire. Elizabeth Sneddon founds the Natal Theatre Workshop Company in Durban. Johannesburg Reps Theatre (later the Alexander Theatre) opened. Herman Charles Bosman dies. Bantu Authorities Act passed. Churchill re-elected. In Iran the oil industry is nationalized. Russian spies Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean flee to Russia.

1952AD

Mycenean texts of 1450BC deciphered by Ventris. John Cobb killed setting world waterspeed record. Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap opens in London. Durban’s Alhambra Theatre opens. W.A. de Klerk’s Die Jaar van die Vuuros & Guy Butler’s The Dam. Pageant on the landing of Van Riebeeck mounted in Cape Town on 6 April by FAK as part of Tricentenary Celebrations. Tercentenary (Van Riebeeck) Festival celebrates the settlement of the Cape by the Dutch 300 years before. English translation of Die Stem, formally approved as national anthem. In Boksburg, Verwoerd mentions the idea of independent homelands for blacks. High Court of Parliament Act passed, removing entrenched coloured vote. (Later declared invalid by Appeal Court.) Defiance Campaign launched on 6 April. Queen Elizabeth II succeeds to English throne. During August, 16000 people escape to from East to West Berlin. Nasser gains power in Egypt, forcing King Farouk to abdicate. State of emergency declared in Kenya because of Mau Mau crisis.

1953AD

templeh Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop moves to Stratford East. Miller’s The Crucible. Bantu Education Act introduced by Bantu Affairs Minister H.F. Verwoerd.

1954AD

First performance of Dingane (Dhlomo) Founding of Show Service by Percy Tucker.

1955AD

Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.

1956AD

English Stage Company at the Royal Court, London. Osborne’s Look Back in Anger. O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night. The Berliner Ensemble visits London. Moeder Hanna (Bartho Smit) performed by NTO. The women’s march to the Union Buildings under the ANC banner.

1957AD

West Side Story opens in New York. Planchon director of Thèâtre de la Cité in Villeurbanne. Joseph Papp’s first open-air production in Central Park for New York Shakespeare Festival. First play published in Tshivenda (Tshililo by T.N. Maumela.)

1958AD

No Good Friday (Fugard) and Kimberley Train (Sowden) performed. Nikita Kruscheff becomes President of USSR

1959AD

Gelber’s The Connection. Barrault director of Thèâtre de France, Paris. King Kong premiéres. The Lyric Theatre opens in Durban. The Masque Theatre opens in Muizenberg. The Insprirations Toneel-groep founded in Elsierivier. The group 11 May 1959 - Professional soccer is introduced in SA when the National Football League is founded

1960AD

Pinter’s The Caretaker. Albee’s Zoo Story. Peter Hall director of Royal Shakespeare Co. Libertas Theatre Club founded in Stellenbosch Xaka (=Shaka), by S.J. Baloyi, the first published play in Tsonga. Birth of a Union by Gordon Bagnall published and performed in Cape Town. Union Festival celebrates 50 years of Union. March 21st the Sharpeville massacre took place, and on 26th August a State of Emergency was declared.

1961AD

The Blood Knot (Fugard) premiéres. The Maimed (Bartho Smit) performed in London. Verwoerd walks out of British Commonwealth and declares the Republic of South Africa (RSA) New Constitution accepted.

1962AD

NTO disbanded after an investigation and replaced by regional performing arts councils (PACT, CAPAB, PACOFS and NAPAC). SABC starts programming in 7 languages under Radio Bantu.

1963AD

The Moog Synthesizer developed by Robert Moog.

1963AD Olivier director of National Theatre Co at Old Vic. Peter Brook directs Theatre of Cruelty season. Living Theatre leaves USA. Foundation of the Open Theatre symbolizes experimental theatre’s loss of faith in Off Broadway. Hochhuth’s The Representative (The Deputy) The first ATKV Tienertoneel and ATKV Amateurtoneel competitions take place.

PACT starts operations in Pretoria, producing ** as first play. CAPAB opens in Cape Town with Becket by Anouilh and Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. . The Publications and Entertainment Act institutes the Publications Control Board. (?*) Rivonia trials***??? 10 May 1963 - The first detainees are held under the apartheid regime’s 90-day law

1964AD

Pa, Maak vir my ‘n Vlieër, Pa by Chris Barnard. The Luxurama Theatre opens in Cape Town.

1965AD

Death of Malcolm X. Bond’s Saved banned. Seperatism of Black Theatres accdelerates. Leroi Jones becomes Amiri Baraka. Grotowski’s Theatre Laboratory established in Wroczlaw, Poland. Kanna hy hô hystoe (Adam Small) published. NAPAC formally begins operations.

1966AD

Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. The H.B. Thom Theatre inaugurated in Stellenbosch, as civic theatre and University theatre and training centre. Hello and Goodbye (Fugard) premiéres. SWAPAC founded in Windhoek, acting laregely as co-producer and organising facility.

1967AD

Joseph Papp’s “naked” Hamlet. Sensational success of Hair. Little Libetas Theatre opens in Stellenbosch. Fugard refuses performing rights to state funded theatres. The Lesley Theatre opened in Johannesburg with the Music Hall Revue.

1968AD

Student riots in Europe. Stage censorship powers of Lord Chamberlain abolished in England. Arts Lab opened in Drury Lane. Barrault sacked by Minister of Culture in France. Ernest Oppenheimer Theatre opens in Welkom. CAPAB allowed to stage People are Living There (Fugard)

1969AD

Bread and Puppet Theatre’s The Cry of the People for Meat (USA) Nag van Legio (Du Plessis) 16 May 1969 - The South African Bureau of State Security (BOSS) is established

1970AD

Brook’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Brook opens the International Centre of Theatre Research in Paris. Peter Stein director of Berlin Schaubühne, Lifa (Kente)

1971AD

The Nico Malan Theatre opened in Cape Town on 19 May with the ballet Sylvia, followed by **'s controversial production of Koning Lear. First professional Kanna hy kô hystoe (Small). Die Rebellie van Lafras Verwey (Chris Barnard). Siener in die Suburbs (Du Plessis) Theatre Workshop ’71 founded. The National Documentation Centre for the Performing Arts is founded. The Nico Malan Theatre opened in Cape Town on 19 May.

1972AD

Planchon director of Thèâtre National Populaire. Space Theatre founded. Sizwe Bansi is Dead (Fugard, Kani and Ntshona), Boesman and Lena (Fugard), and The Lahnee’s Pleasure (Govender) premiére. SABTU founded at a TECON sponsored festival of Black theatre. A second TECON/SABTU festival in Cape Town.

1973AD

3 April 1973 - The first portable cellular phone call is made in New York City, United States of America (USA) Peter Hall director of National Theatre. Joseph Papp director Lincoln Centre. Godspell produced by the Lindberghs. PET do Shanti (Shezi) in Lenasia. Black Arts Festival presented in Soweto by MDALI. Not his Pride (Mtsaka) at Wits. Unosilimela (Credo Mutwa) performed by Workshop '71.

1974AD

The first Grahamstown Arts Festival held. Cape Flats Players founded. Give us this day (Maquina). First independent production by SWAPAC - Drie Engeltjies op Duiwelseiland (Swepach).

1975AD

Dept. of Coloured Affairs introduces a Theatre Festival. Ettienne Roussouw Theatre opens in Sasolburg. Selle ou Storie by P-D Uys at Space.

1976AD

New National Theatre opened in London. The Market Theatre opens. Survival (Theatre Workshop ’71). Broadcast television begins. The Soweto uprising erupts. Internal Security Act (of 1976) passed, giving police sweeping powers of suppression of resistance.

1977AD

André Huguenet Theatre opens in Johannesburg. The First South African (Dike). The performing arts journal Scenaria launched.

1978AD

Imfudiso (by Women of Crossroads). Bar and Ger (Aron). The first Fleur du Cap Awards made in Cape Town. The Federated Union of Black Artists (FUBA) founded.The black theatre journal S’ketsh published (*?)

1979AD

Call me Woman (Simon & Co??****), Poppie Nongena (Joubert/ Kotzé), Cincinatti (Simon & Co). Glasshouse (Dike). Poltical Joke (Snyders). We shall sing for the Fatherland and Dark Voices Ring (Mda). Working Class Hero (Govender). Egoli (Manaka). The Hungry Earth (Maponya). The Space Theatre closes, becomes The People’s Space. The first volume of the South African Music Encyclopaedia (SAME) published by the HSRC. The National Documentation Centre for the Performing Arts becomes the Centre for SA Theatre Research (CESAT).

1980AD

Brenton’s The Romans in Britain. The Hill (Mda) Critical Arts launched by Keyan Tomaselli.

1981AD

Woza Albert! (Mtwa, Ngema and Simon) premiéres at the Market Theatre. South African People’s Plays (Kavanagh) published.

1982AD

The Barbican Centre opened by the Royal Shakespeare Co. Kellerprinz Drama Festival founded. Saturday at the Palace (Slabolepszy).

1983AD

This is for Keeps (Cooke, Keogh & Honeyman). The People’s Space theatre closes The Tricameral Parliament created with a new Consitution.

1984AD

Môre is ‘n Lang Dag (Opperman). Black Dog (Simon & Co). Dit sal die blêrrie dag wies (Whitebooi). A time of rethinking theatre history begins with books and articles by (inter alia) Antony Akerman, David Coplan, Stephen Gray, Temple Hauptfleisch, Robert Kavanagh, Peter Larlham, Ian Steadman, and Keyan Tomaselli. South African Theatre: Four Plays and an Introduction (Hauptfleisch and Steadman) published. Internal Security Act (of 1976) amended.

1985AD

Mugabe elected in Zimbabwe. Rock Hudson dies of AIDS. André Huguenet Theatre opens in Bloemfontein's Sand du Plessis Complex. Bobby Heaney’s multiracial Miss Julie (Strindberg). Skyf (Levathan), Born in the RSA (Simon and Co) Asinamali (Ngema) Bopha! (Mtwa). The Biko Inquest (Blair and Fenton). The Sand du Plessis Theatre Complex opens in Bloemfontein. Theatre and Cultural Struggle in South Africa (Kavanagh) and Black Theater. Dance, and Ritual in South Africa (Larlham) published. ATO founded for teacher's training colleges. FUNDA Centre opens in Soweto. Rand Daily Mail closed down after 83 years. Rebel All Black rugby tour. SA banned from Miss Universe Pageant. MNet set to begin a pay-channel TV service. Afrikaanse Skrywersgilde meets at WITS University. Collection of André P. Brink’s influential reviews for Rapport published. Second “Boetie” movie: Boetie op Manoeuvres opens. Movie theatres may now open on Sundays. Positive sounds of reform and reconciliation, then P.W. Botha’s “Rubicon” speech dashes all hopes. Increased international pressure, internal rots and State of Emergency declared in July/August(*?). Economic boycott bites. Klaas de Jonge “occupation” of Dutch Embassy. Mooted talks between P.W.Botha and Archbishop Tutu.

1986AD

Se-Puma’s Hamba Dompas, Mhlope’s Have You Seen Zandile?, Matthee’s Fiela se Kind, Junction Avenue Theatre Co’s Sophiatown, Ngema’s Sarafina , De Wet’s Diepe Grond, Uys’s Beyond the Rubicon, Braaf's Senzinina, Slabolepszy’s Making Like America, Stopford and **'s Ulovane Jive, and Booysen’s The Time of the Hyena. PACT’s Windybrow Theatre opens in Johannesburg, NAPAC’s The Natal Playhouse, opens in Durban. Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, Frayn’s Wild Honey , Chekhov at Yalta, Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya and Orton’s Loot.

1987AD

South African Theatre Journal launched. Shakespeare Against Apartheid (Orkin) published. District Six – The Musical (Kramer/Pietersen?*)

1988AD

First discussions to find an arts strategy for a “new dispensation” held in various parts of the country

1989AD

Curl Up and Dye (Pam-Grant). Horn of Sorrow (Theatre for Africa)

Market Theatre Laboratory begun. Centre for SA Theatre Research (CESAT) closed HSRC stops its arts documentation activities (in music, art and literature), transferring all the material to the State Archives (Film, Video and Sound Archives) in Pretoria.

1990AD

Survival (Theatre Worshop ’71) revived in New York. Toneel en Politiek (Julian Smith) Political parties unbanned. Nelson Mandela released from prison. CODESA begins negotiations.

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