Reynold Noronha

[Nazareth, Peter]

Folks,

I am placing below the Obituary of Reynold Noronha, born in Mombasa, died in Dunedin, New Zealand.  It has been published in the on-line journal of NZ Times, having appeared in the Otaga Daily Times.

I was informed last week by Lynley Hood, the New Zealand writer who was in the International Writing Program last fall.  I had just sent her a reply when I found the obituary on-line.  I have reproduced my reply to her after the obituary.  You will note that Reynold had phoned me about her last year--we had not met or communicated since the early sixties--and just mentioned casually at the end that he did not have long to live because he had pulmonary fibrosis.  Though he was in the field of medicine--brilliantly--you will see from my letter the role he played (with Adolfo) in my writing.

Some of you will know Reynold.

PeterObituary

Print

Reynold (Rey) NORONHA

| Visit Guest Book

NORONHA, Reynold (Rey) Francis Xavier. Born 3rd December 1940, Mombasa, Kenya. L.M.S. (Mak) Distinction, MBChB (E.A.), FRCS (Eng.), M.D. Otago (with Distinction), Cert. Amer. Bd. Urology, FACS, FRCS (Urol) (Can), FRACS, Urologist and Cancer Researcher - Passed away on the 18th May 2012 after an eight year illness with IPF. Dearly loved husband of Yvonne for over forty years, much loved father of Devi, Nazir and Kiri and father-in- law of Jay and Octavia. Brother of Edwin (London), Lydia (USA), and Bevinda (Scotland). Rey will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved him. Requiem Mass will be celebrated at St. Joseph's Cathedral, Rattray Street Dunedin, at 11 am on Wednesday May 23, 2012. In lieu of flowers, donations to the NZ Institute for Cancer Research Trust (c/o-NZ Guardian Trust), or the Otago Community Hospice, would be greatly appreciated and may be left at the Mass. Hope and Sons Ltd, FDANZ.

Published in The New Zealand Herald on May 21, 2012

Dear Lynley,

I was stunned to receive the news about Reynold's passing, even though I had been prepared for it. I sent your message on to his good friend Adolfo Mascarenhas in Dar es Salaam. The two of them were at Makerere the year before I joined and they made sure I was accepted by the residence hall they were in, Mitchell Hall.

Reynold was a fine table tennis player, one of the best, and that is what his friends of those days will remember. As for me, and Reynold was surprised when I told him this when he phoned to tell me you were coming to the IWP, he had an impact on my writing. He wrote a play of two characters for the Interhall English Competition which was produced by Adolf Mascarenhas called "Two Gentlemen of Makerere". I had written a synopsis of a play, but when we had our discussion session, it was clear to me that his play was good and my synopsis was not. His play did well.

The following year he had left Mitchell Hall for New Hall, which was, as the name suggests, a new, modern hall.

Why did he leave? Because the women of the Mary Stuart hall (the women's hall, the hall that was a few hundred yards from our hall) overlooked the irony in the play over the way women were referred to by the men, and they boycotted our hall--dances, etc.--the following year.

There was no one to write the play the next time so I had to do it. I took the same two characters and wrote about them, but I added one more character, played by me. This play had a different edge and the women forgave us.

I did it again the following year. One of the plays was called "They Have Their Entrances..." and the second "There are Many More Things..."

And I did it a third time. But this time I was under the influence of Chekhov. I felt that everything on the stage should appear to be inconclusive but the audience would get the meaning by seeing the whole thing. This play was called "Brave New Cosmos" and it won first place for writing and acting. The adjudicator (who came to teach at Makerere after I graduated) persuaded me to send it to the BBC African Theatre and it was broadcast as well published in a Heinemann anthology, Origin East Africa, ed. David Cook, 1965.

I wrote two more plays, this time radio-plays, which were broadcast by the BBC African Theatre: "The Hospital" (written under the spell of Kafka) and "X" (under the influence of Brecht--this time at Leeds). They are published in a slim volume, Two Radio Plays.

Reynold did not know all this and he did not have a copy of his original play.

Do you have an address so I could send a condolence message to his family?

Love from Mary. She says to tell you she thinks of you often.

Peter

PS Please tell Brian Turner that I received his fine piece on Michael Henderson and I meant to write back but time has passed and I have not yet done so.