Eastern Cape's proud tradition in the performing arts

The Herald

11-05-2025

The performing arts have always a played vital role in the Eastern Cape — not least of all because the National Arts Festival has been hosted in Makhanda for the past 51 years.
It has been covered extensively with news and reviews by The Herald which has showcased the cream of national stage talent, musicians and artists along with international names who annually make their way to the City of Saints.
But few may be aware that 45 years before The Herald was established, a performance of William Shakespeare's iconic Hamlet was staged at Ford Frederick by British soldiers who were stationed there.
And having the perfect setting to do so, they created their very own Elsinore on the hill where the fort still stands.
To mark the 200th anniversary of this performance, the Port Elizabeth Shakespearean Festival staged a critically-acclaimed production of the play in the fort itself in 2000 with the audience seated within its walls.
And true to its theme of a ghostly character, Hamlet's slain father, stalking the ramparts of his domain — there was an incident just prior to a performance during which a chair suddenly flew up into the air and hit the actor playing Polonius, the late Bob Law, on the head and injuring him, despite it being a relatively windless night.
Appropriate then, that coincidentally coinciding with another milestone event, The Herald's 180th anniversary, an interactive and shortened version of Hamlet is being staged by Pearson High School in Summerstrand with headboy Liyabona Malgas in the title role.
The play runs at the school until Thursday (May 8).