Fillis's Amphitheatre

Fillis's Amphitheatre was a permanent building in Johannesburg established by circus owner Frank Fillis in 1889, to specialise in ourdoor performances and spectacles.

Among the works put on were a reconstruction of the Niagara Falls, Dick Turpin’s ride to York and Major Wilson’s Last Stand.

These were also staged at another amphitheatre, opened in 1896 in Cape Town, alongside the Pier, at the bottom end of Adderley Street.

Sources

http://www.ancestors.co.za/were-your-ancestors-in-the-circus/

Thelma Gutsche The history and social significance of motion pictures in South Africa 1895-1940

Floris van der Merwe - Frank Fillis: the story of a circus legend

D.C. Boonzaier, 1980. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1932. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)

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

Go to ESAT Bibliography