Beloved Eersterust playwright is ready to take to the stage again

Playwright, actor, and cultural activist, Anthony Shkaidy is back in Eersterust after living in cities like Johannesburg and Cape Town for 25 years.

For this nostalgic former English teacher, life after 60 is all about coming back home to once again harness the power of theatre as a way to transform society and individuals.

In the 90s, Shkaidy was one of the forces behind the development of the culture of theatre in Eersterust.

He used his self-honed skills as a playwright, actor and producer to bring transformation to the community and to the lives of those he mentored.

The Eersterust Youth Theatre Project was his brainchild.

For 16 years, with no material resources, no financial aid, and hardly any physical or moral support, Shkaidy threw his weight behind those who wanted to see their name in lights, as well as in movie and television credits.

He mentored young talent like Ingrid Paulus (Sewende Laan), Fatima Abdool (Binnelanders), Alvin Bruinders (Vetkoekpaleis), Elrene Simpson (Egoli), and Desmond Evans (The Crucible).

Coming back after various community development jobs and travelling the world, Shkaidy was disappointed to see theatre is not a central part of bustling Eersterust life.

“Upon my return home in May last year, it was disheartening to witness the gaping vacuum,” he explained.

Born in Claremont, Pretoria and experiencing with his parents the forced removal from his and other homes at the age of three, Shkaidy looked for a way to express himself.

He was soon to discover the power of words and stories as a vehicle to understand and explain the world to himself and others.

In due course, this is exactly what he set out to do.

“I always knew I could write,” said Shkaidy.

His first steps to the wonder world of words came through his truck driver father’s job for a logistics company.

When his father received a set of books from a thankful client as a thank-you gift, the classic Kinders van die Wêreld-series, the eager and inquisitive Anthony was on his way to developing his reading and imagination.

His sense of discovery was heightened when his uncle, Lesley Huckle, gave him seven books in Grade 10 which he had to read and discuss with him.

These included mostly works of philosophy. At the tender age of 10, this member of a family of four boys was trying to master Faust by Goethe!

While teaching at Eersterust High, Shkaidy took his first steps in the direction of being a playwright.

His learner’s plight with sexual violence gripped him so much that he wrote his first dramatic play, Society’s Dilemma, on this theme.

He submitted it for a national competition. With his debut play winning the competition, he was on his way to being a director and producer in Eersterust.

When he left teaching, Shkaidy immersed himself in the world of tourism development and was also employed by several companies, especially at local government level.

His love for words and theatre however stayed with him after he left the area in 1999 with his family.

As a father of two, he settled in a local government job in Cape Town in 2005. He very soon started travelling to research his roots and heritage.

These travels took him to far-off places in Europe.

Shkaidy is the grandson of Russian geologist, Jehuda Shkaidy, who in the late 1800s fled the pogroms and came to Barberton after gold was discovered in the Lowveld.

His grandfather took a wife with a proud Zulu heritage and settled down in the Lowveld.

This is the basis of research that Shkaidy is currently doing to complete a novel loosely based on his family’s life. An anthology of poetry is also in the offing.

“Writing is cathartic to me,” said Shkaidy. “I just need to remind myself these are my impressions of my experiences and that there is no one absolute truth.”

As a more mature writer, Shkaidy wants to write meaningful stories that can unlock the power of theatre.

After leaving Eersterust, he kept in touch with former theatre friends and students.

Upon settling in last May, he teamed up with them in November to establish the Tshwane East Arts and Culture Commission.

For his comeback play, he wrote the musical, Change. Auditions for the cast of more than 20 characters, were done early in January.

Shkaidy will also be the producer of this musical which will be staged in Pretoria in the second quarter of the year.

“It focuses on the trials, tribulations, joys, ecstasies, hopes, and inspiration of our people and of the broader South Africa.

It is not a stereotypical story about our community, but I have not diverged from my ideals and still write about those factors that brutalise individuals and communities,” said Shkaidy.

Shkaidy will present a number of writer’s workshops during 2024: More information on www.teacc.org

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