External links
- The Space — Theatre of Survival documentary
The Space Theatre (also called the Space, Die Ruimte in Afrikaans, The Peoples' Space and reincarnated as the New Space Theatre in 2008) was a fringe theatre in Cape Town, South Africa which was active in the 1970s. It re-opened in late 2008.
The original Space was founded in Cape Town in May 1972 by theatre photographer Brian Astbury and his actress wife Yvonne Bryceland [1] and relocated in 1976 to the YMCA building 44 Long Street. The Space established itself as a defiantly non-racial venue in a racially divided country. Taken over by Moyra Fine and Rob Amato after Astbury and Bryceland left, it survived as The People's Space for some two years before succumbing to overwhelming financial pressures. [2]
The first pioneering fringe theatre in the country (before Market and Baxter Theatres), it mounted almost 300 productions, starting with the premier of Athol Fugard's Statements After an Arrest under the Immorality Act. It hosted the first productions of the Kani/Ntshona/Fugard collaborations The Island and Sizwe Bansi is Dead , and gave a voice to Donald Howarth's Othello Slegs Blankes, Fatima Dike and Pieter Dirk Uys' early plays, and many others.[ citation needed ]
It became the home of Yvonne Bryceland, Athol Fugard, Pieter Dirk Uys, David Kramer, Barney Simon, Winston Ntshona, John Kani, Bill Flynn, Richard E Grant, Paul Slabolepsy, Marius Weyers, Marthinus Basson , Fiona Ramsay, Percy Sieff, Fatima Dike, Blaise Koch, Ian Roberts, Leslee Udwin, [3] Henry Goodman, Ben Dekker, Trix Pienaar, Grethe Fox, Bill Curry, Neil McCarthy, Denise Newman, Christine Basson, Mavis Taylor, Maralin van Reenen, Thoko Ntshinga, Timmy Kwebalana, Joko Scott, Lynne Maree, Dawie Malan, Kieth Grenville, Jacqui Singer, Roger Dwyer, Ron Fenton and a host of many more young actors, directors and writers who would become stars and stalwarts of the South African stage.[ citation needed ]
In 2008, 36 years after the Space was initially founded, with the encouragement of its founding members and in line with Cape Town City Council's Inner City Development programme, the theatre re-opened its doors to theatre goers. [4] There were many individuals who contributed to the success of the theatre. One of these, newcomer Leon Adams, a 21-year-old Ruth Prowse art student, [5] introduced to the Space Theatre by Fatima Dike, was appointed resident Set Builder and Designer by Brian Astbury and worked on several productions including Miss South Africa (6), Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui .[ citation needed ]
"Master Harold"...and the boys is a play by Athol Fugard. Set in 1950, it was first produced at the Yale Repertory Theatre in March 1982 and made its premiere on Broadway on 4 May at the Lyceum Theatre, where it ran for 344 performances. The play takes place in South Africa during apartheid era, and depicts how institutionalized racism, bigotry or hatred can become absorbed by those who live under it. It is said to be a semi-autobiographical play, as Athol Fugard's birth name was Harold and his boyhood was very similar to Hally's, including his father being disabled, and his mother running a tea shop to support the family. His relationship with his family's servants was similar to Hally's as he sometimes considered them his friends, but other times treated them like subservient help, insisting that he be called "Master Harold", and once spitting in the face of one he had been close to.
Athol Fugard OIS HonFRSL is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright. He is best known for his political and penetrating plays opposing the system of apartheid and for the 2005 Oscar-winning film of his novel Tsotsi, directed by Gavin Hood.
Pieter-Dirk Uys is a South African performer, author, satirist, and social activist. One of his best known roles is as Evita Bezuidenhout, an Afrikaner socialite.
Winston Ntshona was a South African playwright and actor. He won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1975.
Bonisile John Kani, OIS is a South African actor, author, director and playwright. He is known for portraying T'Chaka in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Captain America: Civil War (2016) and Black Panther (2018), Rafiki in the 2019 remake of The Lion King and Colonel Ulenga in the Netflix film Murder Mystery (2019).
The Market Theatre, based in the downtown bohemian suburb of Newtown in Johannesburg, South Africa, was opened in 1976, operating as an independent, anti-racist theatre during the country's apartheid regime. It was named after a fruit and vegetable market that was previously located there. It was also known as the Old Indian Market or the Newtown Market, which closed after 60 years. The Market Theatre was renamed John Kani Theatre in 2014 after the renowned South African stage actor John Kani.
The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth.
Yvonne Bryceland was a South African stage actress. Some of her best-known work was in the plays of Athol Fugard.
The Island is a play written by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona.
Sizwe Banzi Is Dead is a play by Athol Fugard, written collaboratively with two South African actors, John Kani and Winston Ntshona, both of whom appeared in the original production. Its world première occurred on 8 October 1972 at the Space Theatre, Cape Town, South Africa. Its subsequent British première won a London Theatre Critics Award for the Best Play of 1974. Its American première occurred at the Edison Theatre, in New York City, on 13 November 1974. It has been ranked among the best plays ever made by The Independent, where it was described as a "deceptively light and humane play that outlasts the apartheid era."
Paul Slabolepszy, or Paul "Slab", is a South African actor and playwright.
Boesman and Lena is a small-cast play by South African playwright Athol Fugard, set in the Swartkops mudflats outside of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, that shows the effect of apartheid on a few individuals, featuring as characters a "Coloured" man and woman walking from one shanty town to another.
The Road to Mecca is a play by South African playwright Athol Fugard. It was inspired by the story of Helen Martins, who lived in Nieu-Bethesda, Eastern Cape, South Africa and created The Owl House, which is now a National heritage site.
Marigolds in August is a play by South Africa's Athol Fugard.
Matthew Xia is a British theatre director, DJ, composer, broadcaster and journalist.
Leslee Udwin is a Jewish British filmmaker, actress, director, producer and human rights activist.
Dorkay House is situated on Portion 168 of Farm Turnfontein at 5–7 Eloff Street, Johannesburg, South Africa. It was constructed in 1952 and was designed by architect Colman Segal (1923–1988). It takes its name from the original owner, Dora Kotzen.
Shaleen Surtie-Richards was a South African television, stage, and film actress, perhaps best known for her starring roles in the 1988 film Fiela se Kind and the long-running series Egoli: Place of Gold. She performed in both Afrikaans and English.
Brian Astbury was a South African photographer, theatre director, acting and writing teacher, and founder of The Space Theatre in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Fugard Theatre, also known as The Fugard, was opened in the District Six area of Cape Town, South Africa, in February 2010. The Fugard Theatre, as an artistic producing and receiving house, closed permanently in March 2021. After commissioning and underwriting the construction of the theatre in 2009 and 10 years of philanthropic support and producing involvement, the founding producer of the Fugard, Eric Abraham, returned the building that housed the Fugard Theatre complex to its freehold owner, the District Six Museum. The building was handed back with two fully equipped auditoria – the Main Theatre and The Sigrid Rausing Studio – in the hope that it will be able to be used for the financial benefit of the Museum and the memory of District Six and its community. The theatre reopened in 2022 as the District Six Homecoming Centre, a cultural venue for events and theatre productions.
