I am always comforted by Maya Angelou’s words, “I go forth along, and stand as ten thousand” and that’s exactly how I was enveloped at the Paulet Huis in October 2019 upon finishing the final draft of Miela’s Box. While writing can be a very lonely activity, birthing Miela’s Box in the Paulet Huis was like being in a delivery room with the support of “ten thousand”, the legacy of the house and the people who take up room in it.
I was privileged to have met Phoebe Gerwel at Suidoosterfees in 2020, the arts festival where our plays debuted that year at Atlantic Studios. Immediately upon seeing her, the sign at the entrance of the Paulet Huis flashed before me, “Ons dank aan Phoebe Gerwel wat die skrywershuis aan die Jakes Gerwel Stigting geskenk het”. I always knew that Aunty Phoebe was so much more than just Jakes Gerwel’s wife, and her role as donor of the Paulet Huis was a reminder of so many women’s histories I had learnt about before this writing residency. Sameda van de Kaap and Saartjie van de Kaap, slave Muslim women from the 1700 and 1800’s in Cape Town, donated their land and homes for the establishment of mosques, which served as safe spaces for disempowered slaves, just like the Paulet Huis enveloped us into a haven of safety as I was now scripting a play with a Muslim female lead.
I didn’t realise it until I met her, but Phoebe Gerwel’s name echoed for me just as powerfully, if not more, in the Paulet Huis when I was writing Miela’s Box. I don’t think that its coincidence at all that Miela Hendericks, the main character in this story, has since then become part of the households and kitchens of its theatre audience, once this play was debuted at the festival and also aired as a radio drama for radio stations nationally. This story was supported by the “ten thousand” – the NATi Jong Sterre Projek collaborators as well as the legacy of my slave Muslim ancestors – and not even the immensity of the covid pandemic could stop this story from reaching its audience.
📷Ⓒ Tasneem Daniels
We underestimate the power of safe spaces when it comes to doing the work that’s needed in the world. The environment you move in has a huge effect on how you think, process and produce, and what writers and creators always yearn for is a place, hidden away from the noise and obligations of the world, where long stretches of uninterrupted time can be made available for creation. Who would’ve thought that somewhere in the mountains of Somerset East, 2 hours away from Port Elizabeth, the Paulet Huis was going to be exactly that for me.
In retrospect I can only lovingly think back to the Paulet Huis like a grandmother happily welcoming us into her midst, us as her grandchildren climbing on top of her, each finding a spot on her lap, shoulders, head, around her arms, wherever it felt most comfortable and easy for them to land – we floated between the rooms of the house like this, finding our space, placing down our luggage and burdens for the time being as we tucked into the newly baked bread and cheese that was waiting for us in the dining room. There was also a moment during our scripting conversations with Amy Jephta when we went off on our own to finish a writing exercise – it poured outside and my window sill gleamed with happy tears. Here I was in the middle of figuring out plot lines and character voices, and getting teared up myself in awe of how the world comes together in support of my lifelong dream to be a playwright.
Many wonderful things happened to me since the debut of Miela’s Box, which I feel is how the ongoing legacy of the Paulet Huis followed me to put me in the path of where I can hope to make impact on the next ten thousand. I got to work on the writer’s team of Suidooster on kykNET and make more history on this first TV soap to ever feature a South African Muslim family. I also produced stories for SABC 3’s An Nur The Light and LitNet, and now I work as an Executive Producer of an evening weekday magazine show Reflections on Radio 786 100.4 fm, an award-winning Muslim radio station in Cape Town. A Qur’anic verse I learnt, when I was young and dreaming of being in the theatre world, is really meaningful for me now: “Read and your Lord is most generous who taught by the pen. Taught man that which he knew not. ” (96:3-5)
I later learnt that Jakes Gerwel was also a teacher at Grassy Park High School, and an academic – he was also someone who “taught by the pen”. For upcoming writers about to enter the Paulet Huis, the presence of this man and his work can very much be felt in the upstairs study where all his awards and accolades bear testimony. And then there’s also the nooks and crannies of the rest of the premises – the backyard garden, the swing and the streets of Somerset East where you could figure out your plot twists and turns or the finishing lyric to your song.
Tasneem Daniels has a 10-year combined portfolio in media, education, arts and entertainment. Tasneem formed part of the first group of playwrights to take up residence at the Jakes Gerwel Foundation (JGF) Paulet House. Here she wrote Miela’s Box, a show collaboratively produced with the JGF in 2020 that debuted on stage and radio stations nationally. Tasneem’s play lead to a career in TV and radio programming with Suidooster (kykNET), An Nur – The Light (SABC 3), Radio 786 (100.4 FM) and the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in collaboration with Bush Radio (89.5 FM). Miela’s Box made a comeback on internet radio in 2024 with Cape Flats Radio and Radio Eersteriver. Tasneem also writes for LitNet, and she is writing her first musical after completing the How to Make a Musical Masterclass in 2019 with David Kramer at the Baxter Theatre. Her interests include tracing her Cape Malay / Indonesian roots and using her travel pursuits to develop her creative businesses.
