(Pic: Monica Fairall as she appeared in "Those Were the Days". Pic by Peter Gardner)
Tribute to Monica Fairall from Patrick Collyer.
This is a tribute to Monica Fairall from lecturer, songwriter and guitarist Patrick Collyer – a long-time friend:
I first encountered Monica in 1968 when she performed in the Rag Variety Show on the Durban Campus of the then Natal University. She looked quite angelic, and I, like most of those in the audience, was awed by her grace and beauty. Most striking for me, however, was her lilting voice as she sang with Dave Gibbon and Hugh Morrison, in a style very much like that of Peter, Paul & Mary; a musical style that was sweeping the world at the time.
Later that year, she and I performed for the very first time - and only time - in a purely dramatic piece - a modern reworking of Aristophanes' Lysistrata directed by the late Geoffrey Sutherland. And so began a firm friendship stretching from her beauty pageant days to her early involvement in yoga and eastern philosophy; her teaching years; our participation in numerous Rag Variety shows and other music "gigs"; our love of the arts and music; and, a mutual closeness with the now-deceased Durban poet, Douglas Livingstone.
Somewhat wistful and mindful of the lost innocence of the dizzy days of the sixties, I approached Monica late in 2000 and suggested that we stage a nostalgic, retrospective show that would try to capture the mood of the 60s.
And so Those Were the Days was born and thus began a delightful journey for the cast - Dave Atkinson, Angela Dodds, Fiona Tozer and Will Wallace - and a highlight in our musical journey. How we laughed. How bowled over we were by the success of the show. How elated we were. Sold-out performances night after night. Here was a different Monica - Monica the hippie! And I am glad I grew to know her in this way. She made my life richer for it and I bless her for this. - Patrick Collyer
NB: A memorial service will be held on Saturday June 27 at 14h45 at the St Olaf’s Norwegian Hall in St Thomas Road, Durban.
Donations in memory of Monica and in lieu of flowers to: Highway Hospice, Durban, Bank: Nedbank, Branch: Pavilion (138226), Account: 2382005432 (Savings). Or to the Donkey Sanctuary, McGregor (near Cape Town – where Monica and Robert “adopted” one of the donkeys being cared for): Bank: Standard Bank, Branch: Robertson (050413), Account: 288244419
Posts
