Pieter Dirk-Uys takes off the make-up and gets real on the Studio Theatre stage at Montecasino
JOBURG – The mind behind Tannie Evita tells his full story.
Pieter-Dirk Uys will be alone on the Studio Theatre stage at Montecasino, for his acclaimed one-man memoir, The Echo of a Noise.
Tannie Evita Bezuidenhout and Bambi Kellermann are there only in spirit and only in the roles they play in his story. A story of the small signposts he followed throughout his life that pointed him in the right direction, recently seeing him turn 71 with over 7 000 performances to his name.
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In The Echo of a Noise, which runs from 22 March to 9 April, Uys removes the masks, the eyelashes and the personas and opens his heart, taking audiences on a journey into his public and private life. He shares the personal mythologies and histories that have led him to the stage and tells of the influences in his life – his father Hannes Uys and mother Helga Bassel, his grandmothers, his teachers and his passions. Uys describes it as, “A tale of a boy who was stricken with the disease to please from an early age, overshadowed by church and school and a very strict father.”
Since the moment he first stepped on stage in the 70s, Uys has been a voice where others have demanded silence. Jokes about the censor board being his own personal public relations department, gently disguise the reality that each time he treads the boards, he stepped on toes, sometimes quite dangerous toes. He has always used humour as a ‘weapon of mass distraction’ and describes the laughter he evoked as a relief from the fears that shaped South African society in the past.
Like all his performances, The Echo of a Noise is sensitive to the mood and tension of the audiences, the news of the day and the theatre of politics. It’s live, in the moment and emotionally compelling.
It is the first time Uys tells the story behind the stories and he takes his audience into his confidence with his masterful storytelling, tongue-lashing wit and self-effacing humour.
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“I think now that I’ve passed that road sign that says: You can speed over 70 now, I can leave the security blankets of characters and the disguise of monsters, madams and moffies and just tell the stories behind the story,” Uys commented.
Details: Montecasino 011 511 1988.
