Drill Hall

General term

A drill hall is a place such as a building or a hangar where soldiers practice and perform military drill. In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, the term was also used for the whole headquarters building of a military reserve unit, which usually incorporated such a hall. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drill_hall)

A number of Drill Halls were built in South Africa under British rule. Notable in terms of theatre is the one in Cape Town.

Drill Hall, Cape Town

Use for performances and meetings

Used in 1883 for meetings of both houses of parliament, again in 1887.

Utilized by a number of theatre companies, including the Aurora society.

For more information

Source: Fletcher, 1994

Drill Hall, Johannesburg

The Drill Hall in Johannesburg was erected as a mark of British military might after the brutal South African War (1899-1902). In 1956-57, the Treason Trial brought 156 leaders of the Congress Alliance to the Drill Hall before the trial was moved to Pretoria. From the 1960s until apartheid’s demise, the Drill Hall was used as a conscription centre for the apartheid Government.

The military abandoned the Drill Hall in 1992, and soon after, homeless people began moving in. By 2001, 350 families lived inside the Drill Hall in makeshift shacks. As of 2003, through the efforts of the City of Johannesburg through the JDA, the Drill Hall stands as a renovated heritage sites with an open public square in the inner city. Drill Hall also houses the Joubert Park Project, the Rand Light Infantry, the Johannesburg Community Chest and the Johannesburg Child Welfare.

See http://www.jpp.org.za/PDF/dhhistorical.pdf

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