DEATH OF DAVID SIDEY

Death of one of Durban’s last surviving eccentrics. (Tribute by Patrick Leeman)
David Sidey, one of Durban's last surviving eccentrics of the art scene, has died in the city at 81. He was a highly accomplished set designer, a lecturer in art and design and a good painter. Style was his password.

Born in Scotland, David studied art and design at the prestigious Edinburgh College of Art and he also picked up a phenomenal knowledge of classical music while a student by showing music-lovers to their seats in the Usher Hall, the home of classical music in the Scottish capital.

Then he undertook a major cultural journey as set designer for theatres across England and Scotland. His fame spread in the theatre world, so much so that he was invited to become the permanent set designer at the Donavan Maule Theatre in Nairobi, Kenya, which featured repertory theatre on a regular basis, with leads from London's West End.

David's work had meanwhile come to the attention of the Natal Performing Arts Council (Napac – now the Playhouse Company), who were looking for a specialist to design sets at the company's headquarters, the Alhambra Theatre in Durban's Berea Road. It was there that he was able to give full rein to his talent, becoming involved in operatic and ballet productions as well as plays and musicals.

The lure of lecturing in art and design beckoned and he was appointed to the staff of the School of Art and Design at the ML Sultan Technikon (now the Steve Biko campus of the KZN University of Technology).

David was a long-standing member of the committee of the Friends of the Durban Art Gallery. He was an amusing and generous host and he succeeded in creating a special ambience in his stylish apartment on Durban's Esplanade when he gave dinner parties. These were always something special.

David was a close friend of the legendary late Quentin Crisp, the flamboyantly gay writer and TV personality as well as film critic. They met in Chelsea in the Swinging Sixties.

Friends marked his passing with a tribute gathering on October 4, the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi. This was entirely appropriate since David loved animals and the closest creatures present when the ashes were scattered were the seagulls. – Patrick Leeman