Port Elizabeth Shakespearean Festival

History

Founded on May 10, 1960 by Helen Mann and Bruce Mann, inspired by a speech made by André Huguenet after his performance of King Lear at the Port Elizabeth Opera House**.

FOR EARLIER HISTORY SEE: Theatre Guild.

Port Elizabeth Shakespearean Festival Productions

1961: The Lark and Tea and Sympathy.

1962: Five Finger Exercise, Rape of the Belt, Death of a Salesman.

1963: The Queen and the Rebels, Hamlet.

1964: The Taming of the Shrew, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolff, (for the P E Civic Theatre Fund)

1965: Much Ado About Nothing.

1966: The Mikado, (with the Gilbert and Sullivan Society.)

1967: Oklahoma!, (with the Gilbert and Sullivan Society.)

1967: Port Elizabeth Gilbert and Sullivan Society merge with the Theatre Guild.

1967: The King and I.

1968: Brigadoon.

1969: The Student Prince, Romeo and Juliet for the Port Elizabeth Gilbert and Sullivan Society.)

1970: The Desert Song (for 1820 Settlers for Shakespearean Festival.)

Port Elizabeth Shakespearean Festival - First outdoor theatre production.

1971: The Merchant of Venice (for the Port Elizabeth Gilbert and Sullivan Society.)

1971: Port Elizabeth Shakespearean Festival

1971: Oliver

1972: Everyman.

Mannville Open Air Theatre inaugurated February 1972.

1972: A Midsummernights Dream and The Sound of Music.

1974*?: The Tempest with David Crichton as "Ariel".

Mannville Shakespearean Productions

1972: A Midsummernights Dream directed by Leslie French

1973: As You Like It directed by Leslie French

1974: The Tempest directed by Leslie French

1975: Macbeth directed by Leslie French

1976: The Taming of the Shrew directed by Helen Mann

1977: Hamlet directed by Helen Mann

1978: Othello directed by Helen Mann

1979: Much Ado About Nothing directed by Helen Mann

1980: Romeo and Juliet directed by [[[Helen Mann]]

1981: Twelfth Night directed by Helen Mann

1982: A Midsummernights Dream directed by Helen Mann

Andre Huguenet Memorial Lectures

1971: Prof Edward Davies

1972: Alec Bell

1973: P P B Breytenbach

1974: Maurice A Wiggett

1975: Siegfried Maynard

1976: Rodney M Phillips

1977: Prof Robert Mohr

1978: Barry Ronge

1979: Colin du Plessis

1980: Dr Temple Hauptsfleish

1981: Jonathan Paton

1982: Dr Norbert Nowotny

The Mannville Open-air Theatre

The Organisation enlisted the help of the Port Elizabeth Municipalities' Parks Department to built the open-air amphitheatre in St George's Park, later named Mannville Open-air Theatre (after founders Helen Mann and Bruce Mann – but with obvious echoes of the Cape Town example of Maynardville Open-air Theatre). John Shelton was responsible for constructing both of these open-air theatres.

See further Mannville Open-air Theatre

Sources

The Port Elizabeth Shakespearean Festival, An appreciation and a tribute. By John Hamber - undated but believed to be 1982.

For more information

http://ivormarkman0.wixsite.com/mannville

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