Recalling a doyen of SA theatre

THE final curtain has fallen on award-winning playwright, novelist, short story writer and doyen of

South African theatre, Ronnie Govender, who passed away this week.

Govender, 86, died on Thursday at his son’s home in Cape Town.

He had written and directed a number of plays of which Swami, Beyond Calvary, At the Edge, Lahnee’s Pleasure, Offside and Bottoo were box office hits.

At the Edge played at the Grahamstown and Edinburgh Festivals. He was then invited to stage the play at festivals in Toronto, Glasgow and major cities in India. At the Edge also won Vita nominations for Best South African Playwright and Best Actor.

His books include Song of the Atman, which is partially set in “old” Cato Manor, and In the Manure,a book of personal experiences and reflections. The book At the Edge and Other Cato Manor Stories received the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the Africa region.

Actress Jailoshini Naidoo said the country was mourning the loss of one of its greatest playwrights, a visionary, a man ahead of his time, a literary genius.

Naidoo, who penned a tribute to Govender, said she first met him when he attended a production she was in as a third-year university drama student. She said after the show he asked her if she would like to work with him.

“That was the start of an amazing working relationship .... I eventually got the opportunity to perform some of your most brilliant work

... both your Cato Manor stories, At the Edge and 1949, all over the country and internationally as well. I will always be so grateful for this opportunity to perform these amazing, inspiring stories as one woman shows... stories that brought to life a myriad of colourful, vibrant, dynamic characters who in turn touched our hearts, made us cry and also often made us laugh out loud. I saw a little of you in every one of those beautiful characters, Ron. The strength, simplicity, humility, passion, determination, resilience,” wrote Naidoo.

“These performances challenged and extended me in so many ways and helped me grow tremendously as an artist and for that I will always be so thankful,” said a tearful

Naidoo.

She said courage was a quality Govender had in abundance. “This, together with his fearlessness, strength, tenacity and his steadfast belief in his principles, made him a formidable force. The sincerity and honesty in his work shone through.”

Solly Pillay, Govender’s protégé, said the quintessential thespian and exceptional doyen of the arts tragically played out his last role, leaving the arts world mourning an irreplaceable loss.

“He has been one of the most influential forces within the South African theatrical and literary world – using it to make a very significantly positive impact on people’s perceptions and understanding of the old oppressive political regime in South

Africa. Through his numerous successful and deeply poignant satires, he was able to conscientise, especially the Indian people against the apartheid puppets, within the old tricameral system.”

In 2008, the government conferred the Order of Ikhamanga on Govender.

He is survived by his wife, Kamalam, two children, Pregs, Samantha and Pat, and grandchildren.

Govender’s funeral, which will be live streamed, will take place in Cape Town tomorrow.