Rising against all odds to prosper:
Many South Africans will recall the story of Gaynor Young, the talented 28-year-old actress who tragically fell 18 metres down an open stage lift shaft at the State Theatre in Pretoria in 1989.
On that fateful day, Gaynor – who was the understudy for the role of Guinevere in Camelot – was called in to perform as the lead, Kate Normington, was ill. It was Gaynor’s debut in a leading role, and was a dream come true for the young actress.
During the scene before interval, disaster struck. In the dark, backstage, Gaynor took a wrong turn or missed her footing or slipped – nobody really knows, because in the minutes that followed, she plunged five storeys down the lift shaft in a shocking fall that should have taken her life.
But it didn’t. Gaynor miraculously survived.
She broke both legs, both arms, her ribs and every bone in her face. Gaynor underwent a painful six-hour operation, after which she remained in a deep coma for four weeks and a semi-coma for three weeks. When she finally left the hospital two months after her fall, it was with extensive brain damage, no hearing whatsoever, and complete paralysis down the right side of her body. She could not walk, talk or swallow, and doctors’ prognoses were poor.
Absa (then Volkskas) set up a trust account for public donations for those who wanted to help Gaynor. The funds gathered there played a small part in supporting Gaynor’s recovery, as she worked with therapists to piece her life back together.
“People said I should forget about my life as I knew it. They even said I should be put into an institution. I didn’t listen to them because…I was deaf! With the help of my parents and therapists, I began my road to recovery. Slowly, over 26 years, I learnt to walk again and to talk again. I am a person again, and not just a burden,” says Gaynor, who shares her inspirational story of determination with others through writing, her blog and motivational speaking.
But Gaynor’s incredible story doesn’t end there. Recently, she decided to step back onto that very stage that changed her life forever.
Gaynor has always acknowledged the role Absa played in supporting her recovery, and earlier this year approached the bank to become an ambassador for the Absa brand, working together with Absa to further spread her message of hope.
That kick-started a new relationship between Absa and Gaynor that culminated this month in the release of a short film on Gaynor’s amazing story.
The film forms part of Absa’s Prosper campaign that attempts to illustrate, through a series of short movies, Absa’s purpose of helping people achieve their ambitions in the right way, and enabling its customers, their businesses and their entire communities to prosper.
When Gaynor contacted Absa, it was immediately apparent her story would make the perfect Prosper film, and inspire other South Africans who felt they faced similar insurmountable odds.
Absa’s creative team set out to capture Gaynor’s phenomenal story and track her amazing recovery, particularly the point where she regained her hearing through receiving cochlear implants.
But along the way, Gaynor’s story changed. What started out as a story about her journey up to that point in her life, became a story about her finally realizing closure on that tragic event 26 years ago. The film organically grew beyond the point of the original idea and took both Gaynor and the production team to a place they never expected to find themselves – the stage at the State Theatre.
“We knew we wanted to see Gaynor on the stage again in the film, and suggested the State Theatre. At first Gaynor refused, understandably so. But then she contacted us and said that she would do it. She would go back to the place that shattered her world all those years ago,” explains Hennie van Deventer, Creative Director at T&W.
The production team travelled to the theatre with Gaynor, but no one was truly prepared for the events that unfolded there. The moment Gaynor stepped onto the stage and saw the spot where she fell, the gravitas of the moment came crashing down on her…and everyone else too.
Gaynor was visibly upset, but stood her ground. After a moment of poignant reflection, and fighting back the tears, she declared: “I am bigger than what that stage took away from me. Today I rise again.”
“We could never have known where Gaynor’s story would take us, or her, for that matter,” adds Lauren Daniel, Brand Manager, Absa “We knew there was a story there of how she had prospered in the years following her accident, but in making the film, it changed the way her story ended. It was no more a story about her remarkable recovery, but about her staring down her oppressor and reclaiming her life. Of rising above what was taken away from her nearly three decades ago.
“Gaynor’s moving affirmation truly reflects the heartfelt sentiment behind our Prosper campaign. Because as a bank, we are inspired by people who rise against all odds and prosper. And that’s exactly what Gaynor did.”
Gaynor’s story of hope bears testament to the power of the human spirit and the strength it takes to truly conquer fear. Her journey through this process is documented in the Absa Prosper video.
Behind the scenes with Gaynor Young
An Absa Prosper short film
Told by Wayne Habig and Hennie van Deventer, T and W
Everyone has heard of ‘that actress’ who fell in ‘that accident’. Gaynor suffered a terrible accident at the State Theatre back in 1989 and Absa (Volkskas back then) had helped set up a donation account for her, to support her recovery.
When our client, Lauren Daniel from Absa, proposed we investigate a Prosper film relating to Gaynor, I didn’t know much about the accident and was a bit worried about a story that was that old, but I asked our researcher, Idele Prinsloo, to investigate. Idele came back and told us that the story of Gaynor’s recovery was amazing. The mere fact that she could share it with us was nothing short of a miracle. We needed to meet her in person.
So off we went to George to meet Gaynor. We didn’t know much about her except that 26 years ago she fell 18 meters (5 storeys) down a stage lift shaft. She had suffered terrible injuries but makes an income these days writing a blog. So we were unsure but curious.
Five minutes after meeting her, our hearts were stolen. Gaynor is such a curious, energetic person. She immediately interrogated all of us, wanting to know everything. But she’s also a natural storyteller – we laughed, we joked, we gasped and we cried. We cried a lot.
We knew there was a story to make…but which part did we tell?
Back in Joburg we shared notes, retold her stories and brainstormed. We decided to tell the story of Gaynor regaining her hearing: On the day, sitting at the audiologist, they switched on her cochlear hearing aids, turned up the volume and prompted her to speak. A wave of noise hit her and she reacted with a loud “Shit!” But being who she is, Gaynor instinctively followed that up with a recital of Shakespeare’s ‘Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day’.
We thought it would be beautiful to end off the film with Gaynor reciting the last few lines of the sonnet on a stage in a beautiful dress. But what stage? What about the State Theatre? Would Gaynor consider it? Had she ever been back? We sent her a mail and asked. She replied with a sincere, “I’m terribly sorry but I can’t. I can’t go back to that stage that took so much away from me.” We then received a second mail from Gaynor. “I’m going to do it – I want to.”
So it was settled. We were making a film and would go back to the State Theatre – Gaynor even had a beautiful red dress specially made for the occasion. We flew to George to capture the story of how and where she regained her hearing. Everything was going well, and after spending three days filming with Gaynor in George, the group departed for Pretoria and the State Theatre. That was where everything changed.
The moment Gaynor stepped onto that stage and saw the spot where she fell, the gravitas of the moment came crashing down on everyone. She was visibly upset but said she wanted to perform. But not the Shakespearean sonnet as planned, she wanted to recite ‘I thank you God for this most amazing’ by EE Cummings.
On our return from the shoot we looked at the beautiful footage of Gaynor Young standing strong and proud on that stage. A fragile woman with unbelievable strength, she had overcome so many struggles in her life and this was the last barrier that she needed – and wanted – to break.
We soon realised that in making this film we had inadvertently changed the story. It was no longer a story about Gaynor regaining her hearing. The story we captured was stronger. It was about Gaynor reclaiming what that moment, 26 years ago, had been taken away from her.
She had proved that she was bigger than that stage. She had conquered it.
And that is the story we are going to tell.
About Absa Bank
Absa Bank Limited (Absa Bank) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Barclays Africa Group Limited, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and is one of Africa’s largest financial services groups. Absa offers a range of retail, business, corporate and investment banking and wealth management products and services primarily in South Africa and Namibia.
Barclays Africa is 62.3% owned by Barclays Bank PLC (Barclays). At 31 December 2014, it had 847,8 million shares in issue and a market capitalisation of R154,0 billion. Barclays Africa operates in 12 countries with more than 41 thousand permanent employees and it has 12 million customers. It is uniquely positioned as a fully global, fully regional and fully local bank. It offers personal and business banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking, wealth and investment management as well as bancassurance.
Barclays Africa’s registered head office is in Johannesburg, South Africa and it has majority stakes in banks in Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania (Barclays Bank Tanzania and National Bank of Commerce), Uganda and Zambia. It also has representative offices in Namibia and Nigeria. Barclays Bank PLC has operations in Egypt and Zimbabwe which are an integral part of Barclays Africa’s African business and continue to be run by Barclays Africa operationally.
For further information about Barclays Africa, please visit www.barclaysafrica.com.
Since the launch of Absa’s Prosper campaign, which depicts the bank’s purpose of helping people achieve their ambitions, we have discovered amazing stories which echo the sentiment of ‘Prosper’ and we’ve used some of these to produce short films.
These films illustrate that, for many, ‘Prosper’ extends beyond financial wealth. That it’s also about their dreams, hopes, where they have come from and their aspirations for the future.
Ultimately, these films relate the stories of ordinary people and their respective journeys to personal prosperity.
In light of this, I would like to introduce you to our next film, the story of Gaynor Young. Many South Africans will recall the story of Gaynor Young, the talented 28-year-old actress who tragically fell 18 metres down an open stage lift shaft at the State Theatre in Pretoria in 1989. She broke both legs, both arms, her ribs and every bone in her face. Gaynor underwent a painful six-hour operation, after which she remained in a deep coma for four weeks and a semi-coma for three weeks. When she finally left the hospital two months after her fall, it was with extensive brain damage, no hearing whatsoever, and complete paralysis down the right side of her body. She could not walk, talk or swallow, and doctors’ prognoses were poor. The five storeys shocking fall 26 years ago should have taken her life. But it didn’t. Gaynor miraculously survived.
This incredible story doesn’t end there. Recently, she decided to step back onto that very stage that changed her life forever. Gaynor has always acknowledged the role Absa played in supporting her recovery, and earlier this year approached the bank to become an ambassador for the Absa brand, working together with Absa to further spread her message of hope.
That kick-started a new relationship between Absa and Gaynor that culminated this month in the release of a short film on Gaynor’s amazing story.
Attached, please find a release with more information on this amazing story and below links to the short film on Gaynor Young and her blog.
Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require any further information or interviews
Herewith the URL for the Playlist.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDmtyZNWy8-_0RqTyaf6IxqOGJ2Fsog3B
Gaynor’s Blog url:
Website: Stories page:
http://www.absa.co.za/Absacoza/Offers/Prosper/Stories
Website: Actual story header:
http://www.absa.co.za/Absacoza/Offers/Prosper/Stories/Gaynor
Website: Story:
http://www.absa.co.za/Absacoza/Offers/Prosper/Stories/Gaynor
Website: Video:
https://www.youtube.com/embed/VaBepM6k7KM?theme=light&autoplay=0&wmode=transparent
