Durban - In keeping with our series on Durban theatres, the old picture this week features Durban’s Little Abbey Theatre, which was on the corner of Commercial Road, today Dr AB Xuma, and Albert Street, today Ingcuncwe.
It opened in the early 1980s and closed in 1985. The picture here was undated and had no caption and looks like it might have been taken for the opening. A second picture in our archives, but without the personality in it, was shot from almost the identical vantage point. It was published on February 13, 1985, with the caption: “It would be a great tragedy if Durban’s Little Abbey Theatre had to close to make way for a high rise building,” Councillor Don Smith, chairman of the board of trustees of the Durban Theatre Foundation, said.
“According to Mr Smith, the foundation had been informed by the attorney acting for the owners of the building that their lease, which expires in July, will not be renewed. The owners plan a new high-rise building.”
Local historian Gerald Buttigieg writes in Facts About Durban that the Little Abbey Theatre was based in the old St Andrews Presbyterian Church. Apparently after the church was deconsecrated it became a warehouse for a trading firm that specialised in fabrics.
A woman, who only identifies herself as Belinda, worked at the theatre at the time.
“The Durban Arts initiative, a subgroup of the city council, rented the church and adjacent buildings and reconstructed the theatre. Attached to the theatre was the Little Abbey Theatre Foundation, a tertiary theatre school, which was connected to the professional theatre. Pamela Perry and Dr Sandra Herrington spearheaded the school and the theatre.
“I have the fondest memories of those days. Sadly, the theatre closed its doors in 1985 and I moved to Johannesburg. I have pictures and programmes and wonderful memories. I remember Jock Leyden in the front row, creating his theatrical cartoons that would appear in the Daily News, and many of the Durban acting fraternity who were involved in radio dramas performed at the Little Abbey ‒ Ingrid Mollison, Caroline Smart, Pamela Perry ‒ as drama students we would work on the various productions as assistant stage managers and the like, learning and honing our craft by watching these actors at work. What an experience.”
The Durban Theatre Academy would continue for another 20 years and was run by Dennis Rubin at DHS.
The Theatre is famed for launching the career of Henry Cele, who rocketed to international stardom in the title role of the monumental film “Shaka Zulu”.
Cele, a successful soccer goalie known as “Black Cat” Cele, was described by Caroline Smart as “tall and rangy with a direct gaze and deep commanding voice, producing a definitive portrayal of the legendary monarch who founded the Zulu nation”.
Cele was discovered by film director William Faurè, who saw him playing the main role in a production titled “Shaka Zulu” at the Little Abbey Theatre.
Cele played the leading roles in the television productions “”Running Free, “The Tangent Affair”, “Letlaka, Ifa Lacwanthethwa” and “Rutanga Tapes”. His most recent production was a sequel to Shaka Zulu entitled “Shaka ‒ the Citadel”. He died in 2007.
All the plans for a high-rise development never materialised as the building still stands today, albeit hemmed in with additions to the front and sides, as Shelley Kjonstad’s pictures show.
The Independent on Saturday