The first thing I noticed about Calvin Ratladi were his eyes. Huge, mysterious pools of something warm and comforting. We met on the stairs leading up to Rhodes Theatre in Makhanda where the play he directed for this years National Arts Festival was about to premiere.
Instead of the jingle-jangle of pre-show nervousness, what I saw in his wise and gentle eyes was calm, unabashed patience an artists quiet expectation minutes before the public sees a work for the first time.
And below the eyes, an openhearted smile, the kind you cherish long after you meet him.
For those few moments hello, great to meet you, break a leg Ratladi, who is this years Standard Bank Young Artist for Theatre, looked at me with such intensity it was as if we were old friends.
His eyes were, I thought, those of someone with a talent for baring his soul, someone familiar with the sensation of opening himself up in front of an audience. It was weird then to later hear him tell me that he avoids looking at people for too long.