(Evita
Bezuidenhout & Pieter-Dirk Uys)
Throughout
the thoroughly entertaining hour and forty minutes of #HeTwo (with no
interval), Uys interacts with the on-screen Evita, so that both characters are
- very believably - on stage at the same time. (Review by Barry Meehan)
What can one say about the comedic genius
of Pieter-Dirk Uys that has not been said previously in countless reviews of
his shows over the years? Well, for me it would be the way he – seemingly
effortlessly – comes up with a different angle or “hook” for his latest show
offering.
#HeTwo (loosely inspired by the #MeToo phenomenon that took the social
media world by storm recently) certainly “hooks” his audience as he opens with
a David Attenborough impersonation, announcing the death of Uys’s alter-ego,
Evita Bezuidenhout. Can this be real, wonders the audience? But then, is Tannie
Evita herself real? To so many South Africans, she might well have been, as she
played a hugely important role in the development of our fledgling democracy,
taking swipe after swipe at politicians and especially bad politics.
The show is actually a tribute to Evita and
her long career, and is told by a variety of characters – Uys himself, PW Botha,
Pik Botha, Piet Koornhof, kugel Noelle Fine (his first drag character) Evita’s
coloured char and many others, all interspersed with some wonderful clips from
shows and TV throughout the years.
Wonderful memories are brought back to us
with some of these clips, including:
• Excerpts
from Adapt or Dye, in which Evita
made her first appearance at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg
• Evita’s
Artes Awards speech (she thought it was the Saries!)
• Her
famous speech at the Teddy Awards in Berlin (“Ich bien ein Afrikaner”)
• Her
privileged interview at Tuinhuis with Nelson Mandela – obviously a great fan of
Evita’s – while the French President and the head of the IOC were waiting to
meet with him
• The
launch of her perfume – “Jou Moer”, along with the version for men “Jou Moer
Hom” and the variant for older ladies “Jou Ma se Moer”
To me, the most entertaining of the clips
were the title sequences from her TV series Funigalore
and Funigalore II, the first series
featuring her and Pik Botha smiling coyly and enticingly at each other across a
scrabble board, on which they spelled out the name of her guest for the
evening’s interview, along with her and Pik’s names, featuring a hysterical
moment as Pik’s name is corrected. The second series featured Piet Koornhof and
Evita in a scene reminiscent of Dangerous
Liaisons in powdered wigs and French court dress, casting lascivious looks
at each other across a period ballroom. How Uys/Evita talked these political
figures into their roles on Funigalore
is not explained, but it was pure genius.
Throughout the thoroughly entertaining hour
and forty minutes of #HeTwo (with no
interval), Uys interacts with the on-screen Evita, so that both characters are
- very believably - on stage at the same time. There is even a sequence towards
the end where Uys, in full drag as Evita, carries on a conversation with the
on-screen Evita as to who or what is real. That’s for you to figure out, folks.
While we can sit and laugh at Uys’s antics
on-stage, there is a genuine message to be gleaned from this production – free
speech and freedom of expression is paramount in any democracy, and while South
Africa has come a long way, there is still so much to be done, and every one of
us has to play his/her part in creating true social cohesion in our beautiful
country. Will there be more in the future from Tannie Evita? We can but hope
so. Amandla! Vrystaat!
#HeTwo has four more performances at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre: Thursday
and Friday (November 21 and 22) at 19h30 and on Saturday and Sunday (November
23 and 24) at 15h00. If available on the night, tickets can be bought at the
door for cash but booking is advised through Computicket. – Barry Meehan
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