Coming up from the toilet of politics to smell the roses again
Through alter ego Tannie Evita Bezuidenhout Pieter-Dirk Uys has made people laugh at what they fear, but now he just wants to tell stories
Pieter-Dirk Uys’ alter ego Tannie Evita Bezuidenhout won adoring fans in the 1980s for her daring jabs at the ridiculousness of apartheid and in the 1990s when she turned her eagle eye on the failures of the democratic government. But Uys says he is tired of politics and wants to tell new stories — ones that matter. During his prolific career he worked at the ground-breaking Space Theatre in Cape Town after returning from his studies and playwrighting in London, followed by a solo career with some cast-rich plays interspersed. In a recent chat with friend and colleague Marthinus Basson at Teksmark, Uys identified chutzpah, dedication, determination and good teachers as ideal qualities and sources of knowledge for young performers trying to make a career. As a young man, he adored stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Marlene Dietrich and Sophia Loren. When Dietrich was brought to Cape Town by Pieter Toerien, the equally young Uys knew this was his time. He bought tickets for her opening n...
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