Pieter-Dirk Uys has released his new book One Man Shows: The Mandela Rainbow Honeymoon (1992-1999) and it is available to read and share online for free.
The book focuses mainly on the five years of Nelson Mandela’s presidency, 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 the EU confusions, with a South African tongue firmly in cheek.
In 1999 Evita Bezuidenhout addresses Parliament and then goes on an extensive election trek from Darling to Pietersburg. 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!”
Humour and irony
The first volume – One Man Shows: The black and white Years (1981-1994) – has been available since December 2021. Uys, who has made all of his dramatic play scripts available online, spent the 2020 pandemic lockdowns sorting out the satirical revues that have been part of his life since 1981. One Man Shows: the black and white years includes his first seven one-man shows.
It takes the reader through the revues that dodged censorship and the authorities, and shows how he used humour and irony to highlight the hypocrisy and corruption that were part of South Africa’s daily life under apartheid. It is already being shared by school children in South Africa. They choose sketches from the revues of the 1980s and give them life. Both books are free to read and download at: http://pdu.co.za/OneManShows.html
What: Pieter-Dirk Uys book One Man Shows The Mandela Rainbow Honeymoon
WS
