Childhood

Leda Troedson (née Roode) was born in 1926 in the town of Porterville in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Growing up in Porterville during the late 1920’s, Leda was surrounded by the Olifants River Mountains and farmlands. At the time, Porterville was a small community known for its agricultural roots, particularly wheat and fruit farming.

Leda grew up in a conservative Afrikaans household, with her parents and one sibling, a brother named Christie, in their family home called ‘Las Palmas’.

Whilst the family was close-knit, there was also a certain aloofness in their interactions. She was close to her father, but more distant from her less emotional mother.

Though siblings, she and her brother were markedly different. Christie shared a notably close bond with their mother, a connection that Leda longed for but never received.

Leda was well known in Porterville as a barefoot tomboy, with a free-spirited and adventurous nature. From a young age, she also showed an affinity for practical skills. At just nine years old, she began apprenticing with the local blacksmith, learning trades such as coffin-making and horseshoe fitting.

It was during this period that she encountered the world of theatre through the travelling ‘National Theatre Productions’. Whenever these productions visited Porterville, Leda was captivated, and this began a lifelong interest in film, theatre, and the broader arts.