Gaston Valayden teaches at St Esprit College and is well- known in the world of local theatre as actor, director and drama teacher

Two men influenced Gaston’s life: his uncle who guided his education and taught him life values and his cousin Kad who influenced his artistic career…

“If I had to say who inspired me most to become an actor, I would hesitate between my uncle who passed away last week and his son Kad, a model for other actors.” Kad Valayden lived in the same house as Gaston who was still at school. As a result, the latter learnt a lot of things from him.

“Kad inspired me as he had been involved in theatre since he was 13 years old with the Second Tamil Scouts Literacy Circle.

I followed his footsteps when I reached ten. But obviously,

I just helped to clean the stage, carry the accessories for the play and sometimes place them.”

Gaston always admired his cousin. He liked everything about him when he was on stage. Whether it was when Kad was doing the staging or acting in the play, Gaston just learnt from him. “I admired Kad for many reasons: as a person, but also for the actor he was. As a person, he was very calm, just like his dad. But, on stage, he was simply incredible! I was particularly impressed when he played in Othello and The Merchant of Venice. I can still remember the powerful way he played these roles.”

However, Gaston Valayden admits that, despite being a calm person, Kad could also be very bad-tempered at times. In fact, he was himself a victim of his older cousin’s anger. On the other hand, Gaston concedes that, most of the time when Kad was angry with him, it was for a good reason. Indeed, his anger was mostly due to the fact he was very disciplined and meticulous. “I will never forget the day when he kicked me and shouted at me during a rehearsal. The reason was because I was just standing around as I was tired. Furthermore, I was playing with one of his tools. That disturbed his rehearsal. I cried, but I accepted his reproaches.”

Thanks to Kad, Gaston learnt discipline. For example, he learnt how to be more punctual and focused on his work. More importantly, he learnt about many values in life. “With Kad, I learnt that, when you have a job to do, you must do it until you have finished it. You also have to do it using not only your brain, but your heart as well. Today, Kad too has passed away. Nevertheless, deep inside, I know he is still here. I still put into practice all the things he taught me. Moreover, I even try to teach the same principles to my students and the actors who work with me…”