Aviation goddess Cathy Specific and her alter-ego, Brendan van Rhyn, are pioneering Cape Town’s Bree Street theatre district.
Brendan van Rhyn and his business partners, Christopher Dudgeon and Luanna Shonfield, are the creative force behind the Gate69 theatre and bar on Bree Street. The Pretoria-raised cabaret star says: “Bree Street translates from Afrikaans to ‘Broad Street’. Or if you’re looking for the perfect location for a theatre, Broadway!”
And according to Brendan, who is perhaps most famous for his role as Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, SA’s queen of the skies has parked her trolley for a long stay.
“We’ve found our home,” says Brendan, “and Cathy and I are not going anywhere again, at least not soon. I’ve had a good run in mainstream SA theatre, having been awarded a Fleur du Cap Theatre Award, a Naledi Theatre Award and a BroadwayWorld Award along the way, but for now the only place current and future fans will be able to visit me or Cathy is the ‘purple palace’ in the heart of the Mother City.
“This utterly gorgeous venue is the distillation of nine years of dreaming, imagining, planning, working incredibly hard and possibly the world’s longest search for the perfect location.
“Ultimately it’s all about location, isn’t it? This amazing building was about the 50th we looked at and it was love at first sight. It had all the ingredients to be converted into a premier cabaret theatre and corporate hire venue, and it is smack in the middle of what has unequivocally become South Africa’s trendiest street.”
Several million rands and one major conversion later, the building on the corner of Bree and Hout streets now boasts a glittering bar on the ground floor and a plush mezzanine lounge that converts into an instant VIP area. The pièce de résistance is an intimate 80-seater dinner theatre below. And while the bar may serve as the reception for theatregoers, it is also open to the public as a standalone venue. Service hours are noon till 01h30, Wednesdays to Saturdays.
It’s a welcome addition to the neighbourhood, says CCID CEO Tasso Evangelinos. “The Cape Town CBD afterhours economy was for many years known only for clubs, which tend to open much later at night and traditionally cater for a younger audience. But over the past few years, we’ve seen more venues open to cater for the after-work drinks crowd, a restaurant culture that patrons frequent in the earlier hours of the evening and a growing theatre audience, with new venues such as The Fugard Theatre and Alexander Bar, Café and Theatre.
“Gate69 will now be joining this entertainment genre in good company, furthering the diversity along Bree Street in particular and the Central City as a whole. And the fact that Brendan has entered into this long lease is a huge vote of confidence in our area.”
Brendan says Gate69 is a one-of-a-kind setting in Cape Town, resembling an opulent mini Moulin Rouge. “The intention was to create a premier space for SA’s best performers and cabaret stars to shine in a range of unique, vibrant productions. The theatre is cosy with the audience never excluded from what’s happening on stage. The conscious decision to create such an intimate space for only 80 guests allows for personalised service where everyone becomes family for the night.
“And in that vein, we’re not serving traditional dinners but rather delicious designer mezze on two-tiered rotating trays. The idea is to dig in and enjoy, rather than wrestle with cutlery.”
As for what is currently happening on stage, Miss Specific will be debuting her show, Cathy and the Trolley Dollies, in December and audiences are in for a huge treat. As if one air hostess weren’t enough, you now have three to feast your eyes on – men want them and women want to be them!
Brendan says: “I always say you can’t helped but be touched by Cathy in some way – whether it is mentally, emotionally, spiritually, physically or inappropriately – all of the above and not necessarily in that order!”
87 Bree St
http://gate69.co.za
021 035 1627