The Playhouse Company is a professional theatre company based at the Playhouse Theatre in Durban in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa.
The Playhouse Company was declared as a Cultural Institution on 12 April 2003 in terms of Section 8(5) of the Cultural Institutions Act 119 of 1998, and operates as a wholly owned entity of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC).
The Playhouse Company is mandated to advance, promote and preserve the performing arts in South Africa.
The Company is committed to providing a flow of varied entertainment, both in-house and in collaboration, of interest to all cultural groups. It also educates with mobile stage performances at schools, road shows and in communities throughout Kwa-Zulu Natal.
The Playhouse Company also hires out costumes and props, offers a state-of-the-art recording studio for hire, and conducts tours of some of the finest theatre stages in South Africa.
The Playhouse Theatre is located on Anton Lembede Street (formerly Smith Street). The original building on the site was a cinema built in 1896, which was rebuilt in 1935 in Tudor Revival style. The cinema reopened on 7 June 1935 and finally closed in the 1970s.
After being taken over by the Performing Arts Council in the 1980s, the building was restored in 1985–6, and with the former Colosseum Theatre (or Prince’s Theatre) is now a performing arts centre with five venues. The refurbishment architects, Small & Pettit & Robson, were awarded the 1987 Institute of South African Architects Natal Award of Merit for the work on the home to the Playhouse Theatre Company.
Overseeing Department/Entity
Office Bearers/Management
Chairperson
- Ms Khwezi Kunene
Council Members
- Mr Baboo Brijlal
- Dr Fezile Dantile
- Mr Lavan Gopaul
- Dr Rajendran Govender
- Ms Thembisa Jimana
- Ms Mandisa Jostrey
- Ms Thandeka Mngadi
- Mr Phil Molefe
Chief Executive Officer
- Ms Lynda Bukhosini
Communications Officers
- Ms Charlene Moodley Bezuidenhout (Manager: Office of the CEO)
Contact Details
The contact details of the Playhouse Company are listed in the table below.
| Physical Address: | 231 Anton Lembede Street, Durban, eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal 4001 |
| Postal Address: | P.O. Box 5353, Durban, 4000 |
| Telephone: | 031 369 9555 |
| Email: | cfo@playhousecompany.com |
| Website: | www.playhousecompany.com |
READ MORE:
➜ List of Galleries, Museums, and Theatres in South Africa
➜ National Government of South Africa
| Galleries, Museums & Theatres under South Africa’s National Government |
|---|
| Amazwi South African Museum of Literature . Artscape Theatre Centre . Die Afrikaanse Taalmuseum en -monument . Ditsong: Museums of South Africa . Freedom Park . Iziko Museums of South Africa . KwaZulu-Natal Museum . Luthuli Museum . Mandela Bay Theatre Complex . Market Theatre Foundation . National Museum in Bloemfontein . Nelson Mandela Museum . Robben Island Museum . South African State Theatre . The Playhouse Company . uMsunduzi Museum . War Museum of the Boer Republics . William Humphreys Art Gallery |
