The legendary Pieter-Dirk Uys in will
appear in his new show, #HeTwo, from
November 14 to 16, 2019, at the Hexagon Theatre in Pietermaritzburg.
In 1981, a woman appeared out of the
dressing room of the Market Theatre, stepped onto the stage and smiled. Before
she even gave her name she was a legend. Mrs Evita Bezuidenhout was presented
to the audience, the nation and the world.
She is still going stronger than ever. No
longer a recognised Nationalist as she was during those years of apartheid
rule, she is now a member of the African National Congress, secure in her
Luthuli House kitchen where she cooks for reconciliation. For nearly 40 years
she has had to tolerate the impersonation of her by a local comedian. She tried
to sue him for libel; she swore never to allow him into her life and yet, now
in the 25th year of her democracy, she will be on the stage with Pieter-Dirk
Uys at the same time.
The question to Pieter-Dirk Uys was always:
why this female character of Evita? There are many answers. When he started
impersonating her in 1978, it was illegal to have an opinion about anything
political, so maybe an Afrikaans woman with an NP husband could spill the
beans. The fact that she was portrayed by a man dressed as a woman when cross-dressing
was also illegal, could force the edge of the envelope. Or maybe that she was
there for only one reason: to eventually make Nelson Mandela laugh. And she
did. They met and he laughed. She also embraced Archbishop Desmond Tutu who
also laughed. She posed with countless legends and South Africans, black and
white, laughed - with relief.
Evita Bezuidenhout will always be ten years
older than Pieter-Dirk Uys. He seems to be catching up. His Darling venue,
Evita se Peron, has been going for 23 years, established as a recognised
international tourist destination and local satirical Stonehenge. Who would
have thought that Tannie Evita would become a farce to be reckoned with, to be
hailed and celebrated as the most famous white woman in South Africa? And now
as a member of the ANC, sharing her weekly comments on YouTube and Daily
Maverick about the state of her nation, where her Evita's Free Speech, now past
its 200th episode, has gathered supporters from all the corners of the globe?
Her 140,000 Twitter followers are not just, as she thinks, in the same prison
outside Rustenburg.
Now in 2019, for the first time, she and
her ageing impersonator will confront each other face to face. There can only be one winner.
#HeTwo
runs from
November 14 to 16 at 19h30 at the Hexagon Theatre on the UKZN Pietermaritzburg
campus. All shows R160. Tickets available online from Webtickets: https://www.webtickets.co.za/v2/Event.aspx?itemid=1493329130
or from any Pick 'n Pay Kiosk
There
will be a further run in Durban of “#HeTwo” from November 19 to 24, 2019, at
the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre. Booking is at Computicket.
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