His Majesty's (Johannesburg) Theatre Programme (1931)

His Majestry's Theatre , Johannesburg, African Theatres Limited, 1931, original, theatrical programme, period advertisements, 8 pages, 16 cms x 25 cms, condition: very good.

His Majestry's Theatre opened as part of a neo-Baroque double-storey building on a stand bounded by Fox, Joubert and Commissioner streets in Johannesburg in 1903.. The venue was acquired by I.W. Schlesinger and his African Theatres Trust in 1917, to serve as an influential theatre and film venue until 1937. 

African Consolidated Theatres acquired the  theatre in 1931, and in 1937 commissioned J.C. Cook & Cowen to design a new theatre and office complex on the same site, the theatre venue occupying the central block between the office towers, which were topped with steel crowns. The end result a large and sumptuous venue that could be used for both films and stage performances, in a style that was known as an "atmospheric theatre" at the time. Forming part of the tall His Majesty's Building on Commissioner Street in Johannesburg, it was under construction from 1937 to 1941, and opened in December 1946. The opening ceremony was conducted by Prime Minister, General Jan Smuts.