webmaster

Archived Reviews

of

Elections & Erections

<  previous   next  >

REVIEWS OF ELECTIONS & ERECTIONS IN DURBAN  —  FEBRUARY 2009

Boos and ovations on Evita's (Durban) platform

– Billy Suter, Natal Mercury, 19 February 2009

Boos and jibes at a Pieter-Dirk Uys show — and lots of them? Followed, not long after, by an ovation?

It happened at Wednesday's opening of Elections & Erections, the seasoned satirist's latest chronicle of fear and fun, the title of which, he has said, was inspired by two things that were illegal when he was growing up in apartheid Cape Town.

Elections happened here, but democracy was a virtual experience, Uys has stated. And erections, yes, they happened too - but were taboo under the old regime, when they arose from a man wooing another man... who also happened to be of another colour

Elections & Erections serves both issues, with Uys dishing up a meaty stew of characters from his past, present and future - a melting pot of matters both political and, rather touchingly, personal.

It's all stirred with a great, big wooden spoon. And, as usual, Uys has his audience eating out of his hands.

So why, then, the audience heckling on opening night?

That wasn't directed at Uys — the later standing ovation was, though — but rather at Durban's most controversial citizen, Dr Mike Sutcliffe, city manager, who bravely accepted an invitation from the elegant Evita Bezuidenhout, Uys's most famous alter-ego, to chat on stage.

A rigid Sutcliffe valiantly, some would say foolishly, tried to beat Evita at her own game.

But his wisecracks were sad yips alongside the snaps-with-a-smile (many would have preferred a more rabid growl) from the mighty Tannie E — especially when it came to the controversial topic of road names, met with loud boos.

Referring to odd choices for Durban roads including Che Guevera — "that shouldn't be a road, that should be a cul-de-sac" –— Evita declared she'd be happy to allow her name to grace one of our roads. Or rather, she added, a whole highway; one festooned with flashing blue lights...

The guest spot is apparently to be filled by a different local personality each evening and makes for a wonderful surprise in the show's second half, which Uys devotes entirely to Evita.

On opening night, she discussed a wide range of subjects, her cues coming, as usual, from audience members and their questions, jotted down on paper left in a bucket on stage during interval.

As Evita, Uys is in his element — feeding on the unexpected, quick with wit and wisdom, drawing most humour from nudge-winks at audience members of other nationalities.

"When our people started heading for your country," he told an Aussie in the audience, " the IQS of both our countries soared dramatically".

The production's first half, as is customary with Uys shows, features him donning outfits to become various characters and, in a poignant, reflective moment, as himself, recounting stolen moments of romance in a small garden shed in the 60s, when he discovered apartheid was not for him.

First up are Hillary and Bill Clinton, then Karen van Zyl, a Brakpan woman who was hired in the US to double as Sarah Palin, but who has now landed up with a job scooping First Puppy poop at the White House.

With a Huisgenoot in one hand and packet of doggy-do in the other, she touches on everything from Steve Hofmeyr and the recent Joost van der Westhuizen scandal, to American pronounciations.

Also memorable is Uys's Mrs Peterson, a coloured woman who runs a junk store and who battles to make a choice for the upcoming elections with all the literature handed to her.

Not to forget whining kugel Noelle Fine, who has become such a fixture at Home Affairs, where she's been trying to get a passport for yonks, that she's on first-name terms with staff.

We also get a delightful exchange between PW ("Long my bread and Botha", says Uys) and Thabo Mbeki, depicted as a puppet. Neither of them, a skew-mouthed Botha maintains, has a legacy to stand on.

Also featured is SA President Kgalema Motlanthe — although his is a short performance, as "he's only an interim act" — while Jacob Zuma ends the first half, appearing as a dummy in animal skins, with a shower attached to his back.He constantly refers to Uys as Mr Schuster.

"I like to call him by his Zulu name, Innocent," Evita says of Zuma later.

Played out against a drop of 30 election posters and a blow-up of Evita with a cactus, Elections & Erections sees Uys at the peak of his game. Don't miss him!

top

__________________________

**** Embrace wit, wisdom — if you dare

– Gisele Turner, Daily News, 23 February 2009

Pieter-Dirk Uys has, with his extraordinary talent and courage, changed the face of South African theatre and comedy.

So much of what is around these days in the way of stand-up, cross dressing and disguise comes from his original works, which broke very hard ground. He continues to be inventive, original, sharp as wolves' teeth and hilarious and, if, as in Elections and Erections, he allows his vulnerability to show, it gives us a twinkle of insight into the kind of man he is under the vigilant intellect and hard-line comment.

Elections and Erections is a double-bill in a way –— featuring Uys and a selection of characters old and new in the first half and utterly devoted to his splendidly mature alter ego, Evita Bezuidenhout, in the second.

She proved her on-her-feet (in elegant shoes) capacity to carve into her audience and guest (in this case the unpopular and exceptionally thick-skinned self-proclaimed "Dictator of Durban", Mike Sutcliffe) with the most incredible combination of saccharine and caustic soda.

She demonstrates a masterful handling of audience members who cannot speak Afrikaans and so reveal themselves as foreigners. They are given a wicked tongue- lashing attacking their countries' policies, which is refreshing. Volunteer any information at your peril, for Bezuidenhout is in full flight, little eyes glittering like cut glass. You can hear her brain working.

Sustainability in the theatre industry is a challenge and Uys is fearless in his continued pursuit of his craft. Being an icon can pose problems: expectations are higher and people are prone to make comparisons with earlier, more energetic works or simply fail to understand the level of expertise required to pull off the multiple tricks.

But by including some damn-near-perfect ventriloquism, a couple of masterful puppets, off-the-press material and a few in-the-news characters Uys keeps himself in form and his audience in stitches.

There were, however, moments of over-kill and if anyone should be acutely aware of the danger of gaaning on just that bit too much it should be this veteran performer. Enough about the grandchildren, Evita!

The thrust of Elections and Erections is, of course, the forthcoming elections: an ideal playground for Uys to frolic on. As always, the mind-blowing misdemeanours, idiotic sayings, appalling behaviour and scandalous scenarios that are part of the real lives of our politicians provide excellent material for his wit and wisdom.

We are encouraged to vote - at the same time there is a despairing concern as to who to vote for! No matter: Evita Bezuidenhout's party, the EPP, and its significant cactus (with the pricks on the outside) will welcome you with open arms.

Embrace them if you dare!

top

__________________________

ELECTIONS & ERECTIONS

Tongue firmly in cheek, Evita Bezuidenhout promises a serious challenge in the forthcoming elections.

– Caroline Smart, Artsmart, 19 February 2009

At the end of her show, Elections and Erections which opened last night at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre, Evita Bezuidenhout celebrates the fact that South Africa is extremely lucky to have the best democracy in the world and to have had visionaries like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu contribute their all-embracing philosophies for the betterment of the country.

Personally, I think South Africa should also congratulate itself that it has produced an extraordinary and unique being such as Evita Bezuidenhout whose forthright and searingly-accurate comments and appraisal of the country’s politics — and its politicians — have gathered her a loyal and highly substantial following around the world.

Okay, she is the product of the equally acute-minded and outspoken Pieter-Dirk Uys, a legend in his own time, who has created and developed her over the years. Although, he would be the first to admit that from her first appearance, Evita took her identity and ran with it — to the extent that she is now promising a serious challenge in the forthcoming elections.

Elegantly groomed as always, maturing with the times in terms of hairstyle and dress, Evita is a force to be reckoned with. This was borne out by tonight’s audience whose response to her much-anticipated appearance was prolonged and sincere. In fact, the applause started before she even arrived on stage in the second part of the programme. To be fair to Pieter-Dirk Uys, there was also applause in the first part before he appeared!

Pieter-Dirk Uys published Elections & Erections in book form. With cartoons by Zapiro, it charts his life and times growing up in a racist/apartheid era/strict Calvinistic society that forbade inter-racial sex and homosexuality. In the stage show, he reminds us of his capacity to tell a compelling and poignant story as he relates one of his experiences across the colour and sex bar when he was a young man. Remember, we’re talking 1966 here, before South Africa achieved enlightenment!

The first half also sees the appearance of characters such as Hilary Clinton, morphing into an extremely good likeness of Bill Clinton. We meet Karen van Zyl from Brakpan who moved to the US and became employed as a decoy for Sarah Palin but now works at The White House. Pooper-scooper in hand, her job is to clean up after the new president’s dog.

We meet old friends — socialite Nowell Fine and junk shop owner Mrs Peterson. Nowell Fine bemoans her experience with the Department of Home Affairs as, with a copy of The Da Vinci Code and its hidden bank note in hand for bribery purposes, she battles to acquire her identity documents. Mrs Peterson is surrounded by pamphlets from the various parties, encouraging her to place her vote their way. She’s not swayed too easily believing that none of the parties have convinced her of their capacity to run a country effectively.

The backdrop is made up of a wide range of posters from the beginning of South Africa’s democracy flanking a massive photograph of Tannie Evita on the steps of Parliament holding the cactus that made headlines in 1999 when she marched into Parliament with it! No-one escapes the Dirk-Uys penetrating eye: Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma appear as puppets — Zuma with the inevitable Zapiro shower on his head. While acknowledging his difficulty in impersonating Kgalema Mothlanthe, Dirk-Uys uses a skilful lighting effect to create the interim president for a few brief seconds.

The witty and cutting-edge remarks keep coming such as: “Politicians have to lie — if they told the truth, we’d never vote for them” …”We need a government that protects men and women — and convertibles” … “South Africa is the dining room — choose which menu you want from the number of kitchens available” (ie ANC, UFP, DA, etc) … and “With 11 official languages, no-one can ever say that they didn’t know what was going on”.

Every evening, Evita will have a guest personality in the spotlight. Last night it was Ethekwini City Manager, Mike Sutcliffe, who held his own against Evita’s candid repartee as well as vociferous response from the audience!

Both Pieter-Dirk Uys and Evita Bezuidenhout remind us of the power that each and every individual South African possesses in order to make a change — if they so wish it — in their society. If you don’t cast your vote, don’t sit and whinge!

top

__________________________

Evita and Pieter rise to the occasion

– Estelle Sinkins, The Witness, 24 February 2009

WITH a single spotlight illuminating the stage and the power of words, Pieter-Dirk Uys held the audience at the Elizabeth Sneddon in the palm of his hand as he shared the fear and joy he experienced in his first sexual relationships.

Uys was a young student at the University of Cape Town in 1967 and one evening met a young coloured man. The pair hit it off and headed back to the young man’s home, which wasn’t on the Cape Flats as the satirist had expected, but was a garden shed at a house in Kenilworth.

The experience left him both happy and fearful — this was, after all, a time when love across the colour line was banned and homosexuality was illegal — and changed his political outlook.

Listening to him share this part of his life was deeply moving and in sharp contrast to the earlier part of the show when the audience was introduced to some new characters and renewed their acquaintance with some old friends.

Both Hillary and Bill Clinton were given the usual Uys treatment and comments like “We ended our bush war peacefully” (Hillary) and “When I lied nobody died” (Bill) went down well with the audience. Uys’s wry comment about that was that “politicians have to lie, if they told the truth we’d never vote for them.”

His next skit introduced Karin from Brakpan who had moved to the United States with her husband and was now working at the White House, cleaning up dog poop, before Noelle Fine appeared with complaints about the Department of Home Affairs. After her came Cape Town resident Mrs Pietersen who was wondering who to vote for and why politicians only bothered to talk to voters just before an election.

There was also a brief appearance from P. W. Botha who compared notes with Thabo Mbeki, before ANC president Jacob Zuma — in the form of a doll with a showerhead coming out the top of his head — made an appearance.

The second half of the show was devoted to Evita Bezuidenhout, who spoke about her new party, encouraged people to vote and gave a few foreign visitors in the audience a hard time, before putting eThekwini municipal manager Mike Sutcliffe in the hot seat to answer questions about street renaming in Durban.

There were plenty of laughs in Elections and Erections, but Uys also left the audience with plenty to think about. The April 22 elections are important, so do as Evita says everyone and make your mark.

top

__________________________

Purpose, Prodding and the Comedy of Hope

– Nathan Zeno, Durban Live, February 2009

I wonder how many times Pieter Dirk Uys has read the "I may not like what you have to say, but will fight to the death for your right to say it" line in reviews of his work (And let's face it, it may seem effortless to an audience but the man works it). As a youngster I never really appreciated the comedy of Dirk-Uys, but I understood and was in awe of the danger, the imminent arrest for anything he might say, and also awe for the thin veil of protection he seemed to enjoy. I found his jokes somehow a little obvious, a little crass. But Dirk Uys deals in politicians, which are, as he points out, a little obvious and a little crass. And now with the danger long gone, I wondered how relevant he could be. His new show, "Elections and Erections", may at first glance seem to be a collection of greatest hits and easy targets, but as we are drawn in deeper into his world, Mr Dirk-Uys (or Sir, as he should be referred to) never letting up the patter, slipping from himself, to this character, to that character, never so much as entertaining a crack in the flow, never revealing his purpose, making small points, draws a persons mind to having to consider all the givens of their own personal politics.

It's not straight comedy, he manipulates the audience from caricatures that challenge our own bigotry, to personal moments about the past. He let's us know what is happening on a small level, and then paints the bigger picture. He defines our place in the history of this country, makes us insignificant, then vastly significant and then let's us laugh about it. Pieter Dirk Uys takes to the stage as if the whole country is his living room, commanding hundreds of people as if he's having them over for tea. The audience is made comfortable, uncomfortable, jovial and then uncomfortable at being jovial. He exercises our dark thoughts, he shows us how to hope through a comedy of despair. I can wax lyrical about the man for hours. I could also merely describe the show, but why ruin it for you. You will go see it, I humbly command you.

His genius can be pointed out in a comparison, in a riff about the long stretched popular topic of road name changes he does, in three short lines, what I've seen younger pretenders have to stretch to fifteen minutes to do. And he's funnier. And he has a purpose. For all the seeming randomness of His wandering through all His characters, he has picked carefully what he wants to tell us, he uses jokes and languages understandable on all levels, and he guides the audience through a thought process that is primarily to amuse, yes, sure, but actually to enlighten. There is not much comedy that can claim such ideals, Sir Dirk Uys is up there with Bill Hicks and Andy Kaufman in this regard.

I'm not saying that "Elections and Erections" is a long political diatribe, far from it, Dirk Uys uses the comedy of politics to gently prod out complacency, and make us feel good about thinking again, he delivers a meal of humor with a spice of thinking. Moreover Dirk Uys shows us that the danger is not gone, that these same old dangers lurk, indifference, greed, lack of hope. He shows us what silly little concerns these are, what silly creatures we and our politicians are for focusing on ego, personality and he does it through ego's and personalities. I'm going on here. You simply have to see the man to understand the depth of His comedy. I may not like everything Pieter Dirk Uys has to say, But I like a lot of it, and yes, many have given their lives for His right to say it, so long may he continue to stand up, adapt and spread the hope, if not here, then Quo Vadis?

top

__________________________

Behold the Power of the Frock

– Illa Thompson , Art Matters, February 2009

Pieter Dirk Uys is a machine. How is it that some people manage to put so much more into a 24 hour day? Once again after spending time with him I am reminded what an astonishing, articulate, intelligent and surprising visionary human being he is. He is a living treasure and we are blessed to have him in our midst. The people of Darling more so, are fortunate to have him as a neighbour and super-active resident.

He manages to put his finger on the pulse of exactly what matters. Like Hunter S Thompson, he embraces our “fear and loathing” and makes us laugh. He is touring the country with his latest one man satire ahead of the watershed elections encouraging us to vote, and vote wisely, and to be more assertive in taking ownership of our situation. To jolly things along, he invited a special guest every performance to have a tête-à-tête with the grande dame of South African diplomacy, Evita Bezuidenhout.

Lots of politicians, dignitaries and celebrities were asked. Some chickened out, but a dozen brave men and women one by one agreed to take to the stage. Hats off to all of them — they were without exception total sports to agree. Evita is daunting in the extreme, she takes ownership of every situation. Her disarming smile, quaffed hair, eyelashes, heels and sequins disguise an intimidating and formidable woman underneath — somewhere between a high school headmistress and Margaret Thatcher. Her retorts are biting, her mind sharp and her tongue sharper.

Pitting the guests against her was reality theatre at its finest – a verbal bout of Strictly Come Dancing — all careful turns and nifty footwork. Some fared better than others — the DA’s Dianne Kohler Barnard and storyteller supreme Gcina Mhlope matched her graciousness and sparkle; the ACDP’s Wayne Thring was charming in his honesty, Rajbansi was great fun and SA Rugby Legend’s John Allen’s casual approach (he wore shorts!) were all winners.

A particularly bizarre encounter was with Ben Voss as Beauty Ramapelele — his black empowerment BEE businesswomen character. The reality of the situation was that two white men were on stage wearing drag and doing improv - Theatre Sports meets Priscilla Queen of the Dessert. What every member of the audience experienced though, was two women chatting — one a white middle aged matriarch, one an elegant black designer kugel. We believed the situation entirely. There was no doubt what we experienced. The theatrical leap of faith worked and the audience wriggled with delight at the outcome.

The transformation is astonishing – Pieter Dirk Uys is a brilliant mind and a great performer, but Evita is something else entirely. Ben Voss is a good mate, but as Beauty I find myself opening doors and pulling out chairs. Who hasn’t admired the total feminity of the “Mince” duo? Barry Humphries is comparatively anonymous, but who doesn’t know Dame Edna and her fabulous spectacles? The power of the frock — transforming, challenging, engaging. It defies logic. There is a study to be done on the theatrical impact and power of good drag and more interestingly the audience’s total buy-into the experience.

Evita has been on stage for more than 30 years. She is as much part of the South African cultural landscape as Ouma rusks and Mrs Balls chutney. I was shocked to find that some of the politicians who were approached to be Evita’s guests knew of Evita, but not of Pieter Dirk Uys. There were some complicated phone calls trying to explain to the PA’s of ministers about Pieter’s show and the invitation to be Evita’s guest. I suspect quite a few of them quite simply didn’t get it.

It is a huge honour to be in the presence of such a remarkable mythical human being as Evita and I am sure many dinner party conversations will come out of the season — both from the guests and from the audience — especially those non-Afrikaans speaking audience members who bore the brunt of her teasing. Certainly there was a flurry of media in response to Dr Mike Sutcliffe joining her on stage, and I am sure the politicians will dine out on their experiences. Word is that JZ and Julius Malema have been invited to be guests during the Jo’burg season. It will be interesting to see if they really do take to the stage and if so, what transpires.

Rule of thumb though, be cautious around a bright man in a frock — if the sharp tongue doesn’t get to you, the heels might….

top

__________________________

Pieter-Dirk Uys: Elections and Erections

– Mark Colvin, Kwana.co.za, 20 February 2009

He is a great performer but Pieter-Dirk Uys has had it easy. Imagine being born a political satirist in Sweden or Canada or even New Zealand. Mission impossible. The available material is just too dull and boring whereas here our politicians are all designer-made to be ripped off.

During His lengthy career Uys has been served up the likes of PW Botha, Pik Botha and just about everybody since, ending up with JZ. A prancing, uneducated adulterer with a shopping list of fraud and corruption charges to answer provides a comedian with rich pickings. Zapiro, the Pieter-Dirk Uys of the cartoon world, could fill volumes on this buffoon alone although the Manto editions would be pretty thick too.

His shortest skit, unsurprisingly, is a very brief, interim piece on our current interim President Motlanthe. Mbeki also does not feature large in spite of His propensity to quote Shakespeare, Woolworths and the Thesaurus. However, this was probably because Mbeki was never in the country long enough for Uys to learn to mimic him.

The first half of the show is taken up with impersonations of characters that followers of Pieter-Dirk Uys will be familiar with but you can rest assured that all the material is new. The Carl Niehaus (also Niekerk, Niegeld and Nieintegrity) saga is perhaps too recent for the satirist to get His teeth into but I’m sure that we will see more of him in the near future.

The second half of the show features Evita Bezuidenhout at her best. Her sharp wit is razor-edged when she banters with the audience and answers questions. Each night the show runs Evita will be featuring a different local celeb with our beloved Michael "Stalin" Sutcliffe grabbing the limelight on opening night.

Loathe him or hate him, you have to give Michael credit for being brave enough to sit on stage opposite Evita with a hostile audience wanting him put to the satirical sword. Future celebs scheduled to be up on stage include our very own Amichand Rajbansi, Anant Singh, Dianne Kohler-Barnard, Daryl Ilbury and Ben Voss aka Beauty Ramapelepele.

Erections and Elections is on at the Sneddon Theatre until 28 February and comes strongly recommended.

top

__________________________

Elections & Erections

– Travis Lyle, The Voodoo Kitchen, 18 February 2009

The wife and I went to see Pieter Dirk-Uys' 'Elections and Erections' at the Elizabeth Sneddon theatre last night, and what a great show it was. PDU had the audience in stitches, he had us wide-eyed and thoughtful, he had us howling like banshees. Oh yes, he had us, alright, for the man is a consummate observer of South Africa's social and political foibles, and has a uncanny knack for shining a light on the sheer lunacy of so many things we usually just accept as 'normal'. The first half of the show he was in person, performing a variety of impressions sharing reflections on His career and personal life. The master of the elegant dismount and the eloquent delivery, he held every member of the audience in thrall. The second half of the show? Why, he was nowhere to be seen for the stage was filled by Her Excellency herself, Mrs Evita Bezuidenhout, straight outta Bapetikosweti. But what really grabbed the audience was the guest: none other than Dr Mike Sutcliffe.

Now, as a little background for visitors to the Voodoo Kitchen from elsewhere in the world where they may not have heard of Uncle Mike (hey, it's possible) –— he is the City Manager for the Ethekwini Metro, within which the city of Durban is situated. A figure of some contention, Mr Sutcliffe has led some of the more unwelcome changes that have marked Durban's transition from the old days to the new, under an ANC-dominated city council. Among these changes has been the one that has grabbed the most headline space: that of changes to street names. I'm not going to get into it in depth here, as elsewhere on the net there's plenty to read if you're so inclined.

Regardless, there was Mike the guest in His obligatory Madiba shirt (although it was a fairly toned-down black number this time). And there was Madame Evita raising some piquant questions, sometimes diplomatically, sometimes ruthlessly, but always to uproarious response. The issue that got the most uproar? Street name changes. This issue hasn't run its course yet, for, as Evita reminded Mike so succinctly, in a few short weeks South Africa goes to the polls in a general election. And if things turn out to the ANC's dislike (which is distinctly possible, considering the recent political seismic shifts in the beloved country), Mike and His comrades may be on the back foot. But after all the hue and cry and booing and howling and whatnot, the message of the show was simple: vote. Or else you have yourself to blame when things don't go your way, politically speaking.

<  previous   next  >

top