Pieter-dirk Uys still a man of Artfluence at 75
DAYS after celebrating Freedom Day, we take a closer look at how democracy has played a hand in transformation in performing arts.
And we do so through the seasoned eyes of Pieter-dirk Uys, who is a national treasure in South Africa, especially as his alter-ego Evita Bezuidenhout.
The respected playwright, satirist and social justice activist will be delivering the keynote address at the Centre of Creative Arts inaugural Artfluence Human Rights festival on May 5.
While South African artists such as Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela and Ladysmith Black Mambazo, used music to fight against apartheid, Uys did so through his satirical skits.
And he continues to be a beacon of hope, change and resilience.
True to form, he kicked off the interview on a lighthearted note. He said: “After 400 lockdown days in a pandemic, it is good to find time to focus on art and human rights.
“We take freedom of speech and expression too easily for granted and are surprised that during a health crisis, those freedoms could be sidelined.
“The importance of art and culture is also taken for granted as we have seen with the Covid arts funding debacle run by grasping bureaucrats who have little sensitivity and understanding. We could do with more Artfluences and less social media ‘Influences’.”
The 75-year-old thespian will be delivering his speech from his home, in Darling, a picturesque small town in the Western Cape.
He added: “At my age taking chances with an invisible enemy is not worth the risk.
“I would have loved being there in real-time, real me with a real you, but like in Star Trek, they will press a button and beam me in and there I’ll be.”
For more than four decades, Uys has used “humour” as a powerful tool to address some of the country’s burning issues – and it is most effective.
“One definition was ‘tragedy plus time equals satire’. During apartheid, there was no time.
“What happened today had to be exposed tonight.
“The fact that everything was basically illegal – either banned, sub judice, secret, ‘vieslik’ or ‘setting the racial groups in disharmony against each other’ – made the challenge even more daunting. Wearing a dress and hiding behind the mask of Mrs Bezuidenhout certainly helped.
“She was the first person to demand my arrest. A message then came back from the minister of police. ‘Liewe Evita, I can’t put Pieter-dirk Uys in jail, because our jails are full of everyone else.’
“Good for a laugh!”
The theatre legend insists humour became his weapon of mass distraction.
The festival, from May 5-8, is freely accessible and can be watched via www.facebook.com/artfluencefest and www.youtube.com/centreforcreativearts. For more information and the full programme, visit artfluence. ukzn.ac.za.