Pieter-Dirk Uys

Artist

Pieter-Dirk Uys began his dramatic career as an actor under the tutelage of Rosalie van der Gught, Mavis Taylor and Robert Mohr, among others. His performances at this time included roles in The Fantasticks, and Once upon a Mattress.

During the 1970s he went on to study at the London Film School and it was in one of his student films, an advertisement for milk, that he performed in drag for the first time. He then began a period in his dramatic career as a serious playwright. Several of his plays were performed at the Space Theatre, Cape Town, and his 1979 play Paradise is Closing Down was performed in London, at the Edinburgh Festival. Subsequently, PDU switched to performing one-man revues at the height of the Apartheid era.

PDU is well known for his character Evita Bezuidenhout, also known as Tannie Evita, a white Afrikaner socialite and self-proclaimed political activist named in honour of Eva Perón. Evita is the former ambassadress of Bapetikosweti – a fictitious Bantustan located outside her home in the affluent, formerly whites-only suburbs of Johannesburg.

Under Apartheid, PDU used the medium of humour and comedy to criticise and expose the absurdity of the South African government’s racial policies. Much of his work was not censored, indicating a tacit approval of his views by many members of the ruling party, who were not so bold as to openly admit mistakes and criticise the policies themselves.

Following South Africa’s first non-racial elections in 1994, PDU starred in a TV series, Funigalore, in which Evita interviewed Nelson Mandela and other prominent politicians of the day. He and his character are known for their tireless work in the frontline of HIV/AIDS activism and education. PDU received the Special Teddy Award 2011 at the Berlin International Film Festival for his commitment to AIDS education at South African schools and for his on-stage alter ego, Evita Bezuidenhout.

PDU converted the old, disused railway station at Darling, where he lives, into a cabaret venue called ‘Evita se Perron’ and performs there regularly. He is the writer of nine books and three films, and the many awards and honours bestowed on him include:
The 2011 TMSA Naledi Lifetime Achiever Award
Reconciliation Award in 2001
Mrs Evita Bezuidenhout was awarded the Living Legacy 2000 Award in San Diego
Doctor honoris causa from:
Rhodes University: D.Litt. (Hon.), 1997
University of Cape Town: D.Litt. for distinguished, socially-responsible creative work in 2003
University of the Western Cape: D.Ed. (Hon.), 2003
2018 Hertzog Prize for drama