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Monday, July 24, 2023

PIETER-DIRK UYS’ SECOND VOLUME OF “ONE MAN SHOWS”

 


(Above: Nelson Mandela & Pieter-Dirk Uys. Pic supplied)

Pieter-Dirk Uys’ first volume — One Man Shows: The black and white Years (1981-1994) — has been available since December 2021 and has been enjoyed all over the world by readers interested in exploring our long walk to freedom and democracy.

The book is still available to download and read on Pieter-Dirk Uys’ website: http://pdu.co.za/OneManShows.html

This second volume — One Man Shows: The Mandela Rainbow Honeymoon (1992-1999) — is now ready for you to read and share freely. It focuses mainly on the five years of Nelson Mandela’s presidency, while starting in 1992 with An Evening with Pieter-Dirk Uys, when racist chalk promised to become democratic cheese. In Bambi Sings the F.A.K. Songs and Other Struggle Anthems, you’ll meet Evita Bezuidenhout’s younger sister Bambi Kellermann in her raunchy cabaret, and realize that by 1995, You ANC nothing yet!

Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s emotional TRC is showcased in Truth Omissions, while in Darling, Evita se Perron celebrates a revisionist history of old South Africa with Tannie Evita Praat Kaktus, as well as the present realities, all Live from Boerassic Park. In London, the 1998 premiere of Europeans Only reflects their EU confusions, with a South African tongue firmly in their cheek.

In 1999, Evita Bezuidenhout addresses Parliament and then goes on an extensive election trek from Darling to Pietersburg, while with the dawn of a new century and a new president, Dekaffirnated makes its own statement with humour and optimism where possible. It all really makes sense of Tannie Evita’s favourite slogan: ‘We don’t need crystal ball to see where our country is going. The future of South Africa is certain; it’s just the past that is unpredictable!’

The first volume is already being shared by school children in South Africa. They choose sketches from the revues of the 1980s and give them life. Many young women enjoy the Winnie Mandela sketches, which also inspire them to ask why the Mother of the Nation was in a satirical revue in the early days of our democracy. This gives South African history a chance to also be heard. Volume Two could raise similar questions for readers with humour, surprises and the enjoyment of the Mandela years. No wonder it is being launched on Madiba Day July 18, 2023.

No hard print of either, and both are free-to-eye!

Enjoy them on: http://pdu.co.za/OneManShows.html