Originally a chemistry laboratory, the Little Theatre was opened in 1931 as a venue to house drama and opera productions. The theatre was founded by
William Henry Bell, Dean of the
College of Music who personally financed the lighting equipment for the theatre. This was seen as an experimental space and had a stage as large as the auditorium, seating only 194 people. The theatre was inaugurated on 18 August 1931 with a production of Anton Chekov’s
The Seagull (directed by W.A Sewell). In 1952, during the 300-year celebration of Jan Van Riebeecks' arrival in the Cape, the Little Theatre put on Ivor Jones’
The Ball at the Castle in an open-air presentation at the
Castle in Cape Town. In the 1950s the theatre hosted actors from the
Flemish National Theatre in Antwerp under the leadership of
Fred Engelen and his wife
Tine Balder. Engelen was subsequently appointed as Professor in Drama at Stellenbosch University. The relationship with Engelen led to closer ties with European theatres. When Engelen produced D.F. Malherbe’s version of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, Mavis Taylor’s costume designs were used in follow up productions in Antwerp. At this time the Little Theatre's workshops caught fire and over 21 years of collected costumes were destroyed as well as workshop gear, tools, and spaces for used for teaching or as officed. The decision was made to reconstruct the drama school and the workshop roof was raised, teaching studios were made more spacious and a proper broadcasting training set-up was constructed. To celebrate the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare's birth in 1964 the British Council helped the Little Theatre to bring out the noted English director
Norman Marshall to direct Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet. ==References==