The Luxurama Theatre (Wynberg)

The Luxurama and other similar venues where meetings were held in the 1980s phase of the struggle. The Luxurama (The ‘Lux’) was built in Wynberg, Cape Town by the Quibell Brothers; it opened in 1964 under the management of Ronnie Quibell. For a while (1964-67) it was run as an ‘open’ entertainment venue, exploiting a weakness in the apartheid legislation of the time which made it possible to be used by visiting overseas artists such as Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, The Troggs, etc. who wanted to appear before non-segregated audiences. In 1967 it had to conform to apartheid laws, and Dusty Springfield cancelled her tour. Others (e.g. Adam Faith, Percy Sledge and Peaches and Herb) still performed there in the 1960s. Thereafter it became an occasional venue, showing low-grade films and used as a political meeting place by the United Democratic Front and other groups.