Interview with Pieter-Dirk Uys by Zara Majidpour
Evita Bezuidenhout, also known as Tannie Evita, is well dressed woman with beautiful accessories, long eyelashes and high heels shoes. She was born in Bethlehem in the Free State in 1935.
Evita married Dr. JJ de V Bezuidenhout and have three children, De Kock, Izan and Billie-Jeanne. Billie-Jeanne married Leory Makoeloeli and has three black children. Her son Izan is an active member of the AWB and her other son De Kock is with the Gay Liberation Movement.
Evita Bezuidenhout was recently awarded the Living Legacy 2000 award in San Diego for her contribution to the place of women in the last century. Mother Theresa and Hilary Clinton are past honorees of this award. (1)
Who is Evita and who is behind her? Pieter-Dirk Uys is the creator of Tannie Evi
ta. He is a South African actor, author and HIV/AIDS activist. Uys was born in Cape Town in 1945 and has been in the theatre since the mid 1960s. He lives in Darling, where converted the old railway station into a cabaret venue called Evita Se Perron.(2)
It is not necessary to be a South African and familiar with the unique sense of humor to understand and enjoy his performance. He has his own way to talk to his multiracial audience.
I interview Pieter-Dirk Uys recently and had the following questions:
1- Evita Bezuidenhout is one of the most famous female political figures in South Africa in recent decades. What motivates you to a play female character?
Evita Bezuidenhout, also known as Tannie Evita, is well dressed woman with beautiful accessories, long eyelashes and high heels shoes. She was born in Bethlehem in the Free State in 1935.
Evita married Dr. JJ de V Bezuidenhout and have three children, De Kock, Izan and Billie-Jeanne. Billie-Jeanne married Leory Makoeloeli and has three black children. Her son Izan is an active member of the AWB and her other son De Kock is with the Gay Liberation Movement.
Evita Bezuidenhout was recently awarded the Living Legacy 2000 award in San Diego for her contribution to the place of women in the last century. Mother Theresa and Hilary Clinton are past honorees of this award. (1)
Who is Evita and who is behind her? Pieter-Dirk Uys is the creator of Tannie Evi
ta. He is a South African actor, author and HIV/AIDS activist. Uys was born in Cape Town in 1945 and has been in the theatre since the mid 1960s. He lives in Darling, where converted the old railway station into a cabaret venue called Evita Se Perron.(2)It is not necessary to be a South African and familiar with the unique sense of humor to understand and enjoy his performance. He has his own way to talk to his multiracial audience.
I interview Pieter-Dirk Uys recently and had the following questions:
1- Evita Bezuidenhout is one of the most famous female political figures in South Africa in recent decades. What motivates you to a play female character?
PDU: She was created in 1978 as a means of getting the truth out in a time when censorship stilled us with fear. Also being a man wearing woman's clothing attracted the right offended attention.
It was also illegal. It diverted the attention from what was being said on stage, I suppose. And it was entertaining. Evita came at the right time. The press needed some relief from the tensions and gave her front page coverage. The public loved her and she hated me. That meant she was on the side of the apartheid government and could condemn with faint praise.
2- You play a strong female character who criticized the apartheid regime and the current government. What problems did you face then and now?
PDU: Acting always creates problems. The fact that most of the action was deemed as dangerous made it even more exciting. Just remember I was a white Afrikaner. If I had been black I would have been killed. I was just censored, banned, insulted, shouted at and in many cases supported by those whites who also wanted to end apartheid.
3- What will you do if you become the president of South Africa?
PDU: Hope to quickly wake up from that nightmare!
4- You have been traveling around South Africa and talking about sex and Aids with millions of school children. Why did you decide to break the taboo of talking to children about sex and Aids?
PDU: It started in 2001 when President Thabo Mbeki became an Aids-denialist and so created even more confusion and fear. HIV/Aids became the new apartheid. By going to schools one was confronting those who had not yet been endangered by a sexual life - or so I thought. And using humour meant that the kids laughed at their fears and listened. I also used words that had never before been heard in a school hall, but once they understood where the minefield was - fucking - they followed the facts. It is also free, so no one in government can threaten cancelling subsidy or sponsorship.
5- You had an interview with Nelson Mandela, an icon and one the most respected men in the world. How did you feel when he told you that “you are one of my heroes?”
PDU: That interview on television - and it was Evita who did the interview - was remarkable. He agreed to it because he said he had something important to say and no one watched the news. But they watch Evita. And in the show she asked him for a New Year message for the Nation. 1996. He gave a message of support to the newly created non-racial police force, being traumatized by daily killings. It was genius. As for his comment? Better than a first class ticket to heaven.
6- What is Pieter-Dirk Uys’ legacy?
PDU: To remind the person who is frightened to have an opinion, tell the truth, question inhumanity or laugh at fear that in a democracy anything is possible, good and bad, but at least one is in charge. So never look away. Confront fear and live with humour as a weapon of mass distraction!
This interview was translated into Persian (Farsi) and published in Shahrzadnews website
