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NOBODY’S DIED LAUGHING: A JOURNEY WITH PIETER-DIRK UYS. Directed by Willem Oelofsen with Pieter-Dirk Uys, Charlize Theron, Sophia Loren, FW de Klerk, Desmond Tutu, Jonathan Shapiro/Zapiro and more.
Karen Rutter
It’s impossible to think of another living South African person who could inspire such praise and support from such a diverse range of (famous) names, as Pieter-Dirk Uys does in his latest documentary. Nobody’s Died Laughing takes an affectionate and informative look at the life and times of the country’s most enduring actor and activist. And the list of prominent contributors to the work is impressive: Charlize Theron, Sophia Loren, FW de Klerk, Desmond Tutu, Jonathan Shapiro/Zapiro, Thoko Ntshinga, David Kramer, Dame Janet Suzman, Zolani Mahola and more. Politicians, actors, musicians – you name ’em, they appear – all expressing genuine admiration of and sharing amusing or poignant anecdotes about one clearly-beloved man.
20-odd years into our new democracy, it’s sometimes difficult to remember just how insidious the apartheid government was. And how quick to cut off any supposed challenge to the state. If a song was deemed “threatening”, it was denied airplay. Theatre audiences were segregated. Actors were arrested. And playwrights were banned. Uys was one of a number of outspoken arts workers who was at the receiving end of much of this treatment during the 1970s and 1980s. But it never stopped the prolific writer and performer; indeed, he even managed to pull off the fine balancing act of actually making (some) Nationalist politicians laugh at themselves.
Speaking truth to power
But for the majority of Uys’ life, in his (over 20) plays, 30 revues and literally thousands of performances in South Africa and internationally, he has never stopped speaking truth to power. It is one of his most defining traits. One which Nobody’s Died Laughing portrays through interviews with colleagues, friends and fans, footage of live shows, behind-the-scenes commentary and rare intimate glimpses. We get to understand a lot of the motivation behind Uys’ work – and his work ethic, in itself – which has taken him from rave-review one-person shows in London and New York to HIV/AIDS education sessions in dusty schoolrooms in Cradock and Nelspruit.
Of course, no Pieter-Dirk Uys presentation would be complete without the appearance of the most famous white woman in South Africa, so Evita Bezuidenhout does make a couple of turns in the film, as does her sister Bambi Kellerman and several other (in)famous Uys characters.
But in the end this is a documentary about one man, and the many facets which have gone into his unique make-up. And it serves to remind us how very, very lucky we have been to have a Pieter-Dirk Uys in the ring.
Watch: The official trailer
WS
