REVIEWS of #HETWO: EVITA EXPOSED! in CAPE TOWN — AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2019
***** #HeTwo: Evita exposed! — review
– Robyn Cohen, The Cape Robyn, 5 September 2019
SATIRICAL-
Performer: Pieter-
Director/concept/everything: Pieter-
Film newsreel (docu-
Characters: Pieter-
#HeTwo: Evita exposed! is Pieter-
In #HeTwo: Evita exposed!, PDU exposes himself to us and leaves us exposed to what is playing out before us. This is theatre of raw, cold, confrontation — on the coalface of the stage. Beautifully presented, the show is a masterful mélange of live performance/impressions and bioscope.
The artist holds forth on stage — as himself — and transforms into six characters (fictional and “real”). Behind him, is a screen, spliced with film footage — scenes from Evita Bezuidenhout’s four decades on the boards of stage and politics (schmoozing with Madiba and politicians, giving talks, accepting awards, interviewing politicians on her TV show Funigalore). The film conjures up a sense of the old style African Mirror newsreel clips that we watched at the bioscope, as a prelude to the main feature. These were the days before TV and Netflix. Our news was censored by the Apartheid regime.
The film is formatted as Evita Bezuidenhout’s obituary. Onstage, David Attenborough (aka PDU) reminisces about the most famous white woman in South Africa. PDU (as himself — but who is his “self”?) riffs off the fact that you can’t kill someone who is not real and that segues into “just because you are a not real, it doesn’t mean that you don’t exist.” With #HeToo, there are obvious allusions to the #MeToo movement and the fact that boys and men are abused daily –-
But the #HeToo premise is a nifty artistic device for Evita and PDU to share the stage together and to finally have a conversation. He said: “I have never confronted Evita. Never thought I could. #MeToo became #HeTwo.” Evita heckles him that it’s not politically correct for a man to dress up as a woman and further, it’s not politically correct for him to impersonate black people. That is the fun part of the show and provides comic relief and release in a dark show which is unflinchingly confrontational and not a joke.
As to whether Evita will or won’t strut out again. It doesn’t matter. PDU, blithely snips at that one: Why would he kill off the golden goose? Evita’s “death” is not the point of this show. In an interview, last week, prior to seeing the show, I put it to him that an obit, is as an opportunity to look back on a life — in this case — the many lives of the most famous white woman who is not a real woman. He countered: “No, the first impression is an obituary but then it becomes a tribute not just to her but to us who believed in her.”
Therein lies the crunch: belief. I think that PDU’s belief in the magic of Evita has dimmed. In our interview, he mused that he is using the obit “to celebrate 25 years of democracy”. Well, “celebrate: is the term that he used. I don’t think that it’s a celebration that he is presenting. I think that the show is rooted in a sense of utter despair over his beloved country; a country that he is nonetheless devoted to and committed to — a hundred percent. His despair stretches to the world at large — the lunacy and evil of politicians globally; rise of populism, right-
Despair aside, we return to Evita. In recent years, Evita as the retired former ambassador to Bapetikosweti (the fictitious homeland in Apartheid SA) has been behind the scenes “cooking for reconciliation”. She was the ultimate Rainbow Nation Poster Woman. She embraced the Rainbow Nation — ruptures and all. She adapted. She looked glamorous and fabulous. She was the ultimate positivist. Evita doesn’t do irony. She does not smirk or jest. We loved that. We needed that. She embodied scenes that we wanted to see in the New South Africa: Evita with Madiba and others.
And now? PDU as her creator; he is still devoted to his country but he despairs. Yup, back to the D word. For me, watching the clips play out from Evita’s journey, there is a sense of incredulity by PDU as he sits on the side of the stage, watching as we watch. He knows that he wrote her lines and pulled her strings but there is a sense of disbelief at how Evita in her own right beguiled and charmed everyone — from the gag-
When Madiba mingled with Evita shortly after becoming president, he famously admonished PDU to put the wig back on. He preferred Evita. He did not want Pieter. People were utterly enchanted by the Evita magic. She gave talks around the world; met with dignitaries. PDU was no-
It’s extraordinary to watch the artist watching himself dissolving into his creation and almost gasping out aloud at the magnificence of Evita. He is just a bloke sitting on a stage, watching the Most Famous White Woman in South Africa.
What we see in #HeTwo: Evita exposed! represents a tiny slice of team Evita and PDU. Away from the theatre. #They have been not only on stage and telly but have been out on the road, working with young people. This is where PDU is unfailingly in his positivism. He did an “election trek" in 1999 –-
So, ja, away from stage, film, telly and hitting the celeb circuit, team #TheyToo have made a very real impact on this country — fighting against AIDS, hate-
Evita is incomparable and so is PDU. PDU is 73 and Evita is a decade older — 83. (PDU turns 74 on September 28. He was born in 1945). They feed off each other. It’s thrilling to see them heckle each other on stage.
#HeTwo: Evita exposed! is an opportunity to watch PDU pay homage to the legacy of Madiba and to reflect deeply — what that means for us and how we conduct ourselves. Cultural activism doesn’t cover the tip of what PDU — and Evita — have ignited in this country — away from the adoration and lights of showbiz. As to labels, in my interview last week, when asked how he feels about being tagged as a jester or what-
Don’t miss this extraordinary show by the incomparable, legendary Pieter-
•Visit Evita se Perron's YouTube channel, where more than 200 episodes of ‘Evita’s Free Speech’ can be viewed, with a new episode added every Sunday.
•Pieter-
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#HETWO: EVITA EXPOSED at Theatre On The Bay is Full of Heart and Belly Laughs
– Faeron Wheeler, Broadway World, 4 September.2019
It's billed as a unique confrontation where Pieter-
The simple setting of a table and chair off to one side and a projector and screen at the back is all Uys needs to help us and him relive some of the highlights of his career and Evita's extraordinary life. As a huge fan of both, I found the start somewhat terrifying — we are at tannie Evita's funeral and some the various characters she has interacted with over the years have come to say their farewells and to tell stories. Thankfully this was really just a way to introduce the concept of looking back and the world does not have to say farewell to Evita. I know I'm not ready for that!
But what an incredible trip down memory lane. It must have been quite something for Uys to dust off some of his characters and bring them to life again. You could tell that the audience was loving it. There's something special about the contrast of the familiar on stage but giving us new jokes and new takes on old stories.
The projector and screen on stage were used to show old photos and clips from televisions shows and broadcast events where Evita featured. What a treat to look back at all these moments in our history. I got goose bumps thinking about the impact that Uys and his creation of Evita have had on the world.
To me, the most fascinating part of the entire show was listening to Uys talk about his shared history with Evita. She is so real to him, and to most of South Africa if we're honest. It was almost as if Uys was trying to work out if she is actually real and he is merely impersonating her as he does so many other famous people. The title of the show, #HeTwo, was obviously inspired by the conversation sparked by the #MeToo movement. However, Uys was really looking at the two people he lives with: himself and herself.
If I'm honest, I wanted more. I wanted to really delve into this psychological and almost existential question of does Evita really exist. There is a fantastic moment of confrontation between the two at the end, which I loved, but felt it could've been pushed further. This might just be me though, who always wants to get to the bottom of the thought process...
It is a great show with a lot of heart and a lot of laughs. The audience members all came out with smiles on their faces on opening night. It was classic Pieter-
#HETWO: EVITA EXPOSED will be performed at Theatre on the Bay until 14 September. Tickets cost R150R220 and bookings can be made at Computicket on 0861 915 8000, online at www.computicket.com or at any Shoprite Checkers outlet.
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#HeTwo: Evita deur Pieter se oë
– Cliffordene Norton, Litnet, 5 September 2019
“Net omdat sy nie bestaan nie, beteken dit nie sy is nie ’n werklike persoon nie,” sê Pieter-
Tydens dié toneelstuk herbeleef die gehoor hoogtepunte van tannie Evita se lewe.
Die produksie begin met ’n huldeblyk oor Evita wat deur Pieter onderbreek word met die woorde: “Hoe kan sy sterf indien sy nooit bestaan het nie? Slegs ek kan haar doodmaak, want ek het haar geskep.”
Saam met hom (en ’n paar bekende gesigte) kry die gehoor ’n agter-
Hoe het Evita haar naam gekry? Watter emosies het Evita beleef toe sy oudpresident Nelson Mandela vir die eerste keer ontmoet het?
Die leser kry ook dieper insig in die akteur. “Ek het ook egter agter hierdie karakter geskuil,” erken Pieter tydens sy optrede, voor hy uitbrei oor die mag van Evita. Sy kon kommentaar lewer oor die politieke omstandighede wanneer hy nie kon nie. Sy kon die politici bespot en hulle het saam met haar gelag.
Tydens die toneelstuk deel hy ’n staaltjie oor toe hy ’n onderhoud met Nelson Mandela gaan voer het.
“Ek het opgedaag en gevra vir ’n plek om aan te trek. Ek is gewys na die damesbadkamers, wat leeg was. Ek was besig om my grimering op te sit, toe drie skoonmakers instap. Hulle het gevra of hulle mag kyk hoe ek aantrek. Ek het gedink ek kry ’n gehoor; ek het drie van die sterkste kritici gekry. Vir meer as twintig jaar sit ek grimering aan, maar skielik het ek dit nie reg gedoen nie. Toe ek Evita se hare aansit, staan hulle op en maak verskoning. Ek het niks gedoen nie; Evita het opgedaag.”
Die #HeTwo-
Selfs met hierdie gewigtige temas het ek met ’n ligter hart uitgestap.
Tydens die produksie prys Pik Botha, Desmond Tutu en Suid-
Pieter neem die gehoor ook terug na Suid-
Die produksie is ’n volle uur en ’n half en nie een keer kry jy die begeerte om op jou selfoon te loer nie. Jy is vasgevang deur die gebeure op die verhoog en dit spreek van Pieter-
Hy was uitstekend, wat nie ’n verrassing was nie. Ek het die humor verwag, maar die hoop vir die toekoms waarmee ek uitgestap het, het my onkant betrap.
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Don’t miss this retrospective of the life of Evita Bezuidenhout at Theatre On The Bay
– Bianca Coleman, Eat.Play.Drink Cape Town, 2 September 2019
AS Desmond Tutu says: “Evita Bezuidenhout is not a woman; Evita Bezuidenhout is a legend.” Together with Pieter-
PDU’s new show at Theatre On The Bay, #HeTwo, opens with the unthinkable — the apparent death of the most famous white woman in South Africa. But, as Uys asks the audience, how can someone who doesn’t exist, die? And why do so many people keep thinking she’s real? Probably because for so many of us, she is very real.
Taking to the almost-
During this retrospective we see Evita being honoured and adored, and her meetings and interviews with politicians, as well as her widely-
Between the AV component of the show, Uys addresses the gathering in various guises — himself, and a selection of the characters he has lampooned over the decades. Heck, I remember seeing him during the dark old days and wondering how on earth he got away with what he did. The role Uys and Evita have played in our country’s history is indisputable.
#HeTwo is a title inspired by the #MeToo revolution, but in this case referring to the two people Uys has been responsible for during his long career as an entertainer: himself and herself. Naturally, this production wouldn’t be complete without Mrs Bezuidenhout making an appearance, and a passionate speech. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if she was in charge of running this country?
#HeTwo is at Theatre On The Bay in Camps Bay, Tuesdays to Fridays at 8pm, and on Saturdays at 4pm and 8pm, until September 14, 2019. Tickets cost from R150 through Computicket, 0861 915 8000 and the theatre box office on 021 438 3301. Visit Evita se Perron’s Youtube channel where more than 200 episodes of Evita’s Free Speech can be viewed, with a new episode added every Sunday.
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#HeTwo: Evita exposed!: Review
– Sheila Chisholm, Weekend Special, 31 August 2019
Chaotic is possibly the best word to describe current local and international politics. Everywhere media headlines scream of conflicts and disasters, and leads one into thinking that nowhere in the world is there a peaceful corner or anything to laugh about. Even as spring flowers start showing, an atmosphere of gloom and doom prevails all around.
Yet, the only thing needed to dispel those dark clouds is to attend an evening with Pieter-
Uys is a rare human being. As a brilliant satirist, he single-
Koeksister adventures
In #HeTwo: Evita exposed! Uys reflects on his 38 year-
In his inimitable way Uys talked about how, from Evita’s first Market Theatre appearance in 1981 she hit the Golden Globe -
In carefully preserved video clips, dressed in exotic gowns, garden party ‘hoede’, jewels to die (or steal) for, in her posh South African accent, Evita led us through the previous dispensation’s Apartheid absurdities.
Oh, yes! We laughed at her impersonations of Die Ou Krokodil, PW Botha’s “let me tell you” wagging pointer finger and innuendoes of thin moustached Pik Botha’s relationship with Evita. Oh, yes! We laughed. But underneath lay a potent message, that Apartheid’s designers and those on whom those policies were implemented were cruel, totally unjust and inhumane.
She told us how Nelson Mandela, enjoyed her company, and through her we remembered Mandela’s magic — what a shame the British people declined to knock Admiral Nelson off his column and replace him with the admirable Nelson Mandela.
Madiba’s release after 27 years of imprisonment, followed by his election as South Africa’s first democratically elected president raised every single South African to believe we were going forward into a glowing time where all citizens were given the right to a bed, food, a home and a decent education.
Without much emphasis on the ANC’s most recent past president’s disastrous exploits, Evita/Uys called upon us to throw away our half empty glasses, keep our half full one close by. For thereby we will pick ourselves up and with grateful thanks to Evita Bezuidenhout smile, laugh and move forward again.
As I took home my half full glass I wondered how is it possible that this young democracy could, in my, and others lifetime produce four legends — Nelson Mandela, Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Evita Bezuidenhout and Pieter-
What: #HeTwo: Evita exposed! review
Where, when: Theatre on the Bay, Camps Bay, until 14 September 2019
Book: Computicket
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Scene It: #HeTwo, PDU's Evita exposé at Theatre on the Bay
– Beverley Brommert, Theatre Scene Cape Town, 30 August 2019
Just when it seems that damp tissues and tremulous obituaries are in order with the demise of the iconic Evita Bezuidenhout, an abrupt change of tone and mood brings us back to reality as Pieter-
The comedian’s ingenuity as well as his gift for the unexpected are the chief strengths of #HeTwo: Evita Exposed, the spelling of the latter word attesting to PDU’s mental agility as he manipulates the familiar hash-
With enviable aplomb, he constructs and deconstructs his alter ego before our eyes, now applying false eyelashes, now wiping off lipstick with a practiced confidence honed since 1981, when he first introduced us to this woman on April 1st — a significant date… The same approach is generally made to portraying the gamut of celebrities who also feature here as the performer doffs or dons wigs, spectacles, and the occasional hat to efface his own personality in favour of the person evoked. This not exactly new, however, and the only fault in an otherwise brilliant show is the revisiting of old and hoary material. While a sketch or two of the Bothas (PW and Pik) may be justified — especially in the case of the latter, whose relationship with Evita B was reputed to border on the inappropriate — these impersonations are now so familiar as to lose much of their impact, and their inclusion here is over-
What is far more stimulating is the existential question raised at the outset by Uys: “How can you kill someone who does not exist?”, followed, perversely, by proving that Evita Bezuidenhout has taken on a life and reality of her own which make her virtually independent of her creator. In true PDU fashion, the comedian reserves the biggest surprise for the end, like a chef keeping a superb dessert to round off a feast in style and send everyone home bemused and happy. In the midst of a florid speech extolling the new South Africa with a patriotism reminiscent of Shakespeare’s rave about “this sceptred isle… this other Eden” in King Richard II, Uys is suddenly pulled up short by an indignant outburst from Ms Bezuidenhout, dressed in identical attire to his own, as she rails against his crude impersonation of her. What could be more subversive? Or more delightfully thought-
#HeTwo: Evita Exposed
Directed, Devised and Performed by Pieter-
Venue: Theatre on the Bay, until September 14
Booking: www.computicket.com
Rating: 4
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