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Umuzi

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Archive for the ‘Humour’ Category

An Audience with Pieter-Dirk Eish: The Comedian Talks Satire, His Latest Show and His Favourite Characters

by Amanda on Feb 27th, 2015
Evita's Kossie SikelelaEvita se Kossie SikelelaEvita's BlackBessieEvita se BlackBessieEvita se Bossie SikelelaEvita\'s Bossie Sikelela

 
Pieter-Dirk Uys AKA Evita Bezuidenhout’s latest show An Audience with Pieter-Dirk Eish opened at the Cape Town Theatre on the Bay last week and will be running until the 14th of March before it moves to Johannesburg’s Toerien Montecasino Theatre to show from 17 March to 12 April.

 
Uys joined Jennifer Sanasie in the News24 studio to discuss what people can expect from this new production:

“The point of the show is it’s live, meaning it’s what’s happening now,” says Uys, explaining the concept of this production, which sees 20 numbered boxes placed on stage from which his beloved characters will entertain the audience as they are chosen.

“Evita Bezuidenhout is the most famous one. If she hasn’t been chosen by 80 minutes I will say to the audience that there is something I must do otherwise they will throw stones at me at the end,” Uys tells Sanasie.

Watch the video to find out more about An Audience with Pieter-Dirk Eish:

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Uys also discussed the role of satire in South Africa:

“I don’t think it is important. You know, satire is a flavour of criticism, a flavour of highlighting. It’s like a bright yellow Koki pen that you highlight with,” the comedian says. He elaborates by saying that the shocking nature of our reality has taken away from the original intentions of satire (to shock) and shares the basic principles of modern satire.

“It is important to make people sit up and think hey, you are not allowed to say that. Are you allowed to say that? Am I allowed to think that?” Uys says and emphasises that “entertainment is the most important part” of this branch of comedy:

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“I get a great reaction from Desmond Tutu because he is the voice in the wilderness of free speech. I mean, he is so important and so funny – and he loves humour!” Uys replied to the question which of his characters get the strongest reaction. He says he especially enjoys playing to “born-frees” (under 20s) who have no idea what he is talking about most of the time.

Watch the video for more on his other characters, including Tannie Evita, and his advice to young South Africans:

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Related:

 

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Watch: Tannie Evita’s “Song For Tomorrow” with Karen Zoid, Zolani Mahola and Hemelbesem

by Amanda on Feb 11th, 2015

 
Evita Bezuidenhout’s #CommitYourSelfie campaign now has a anthem, with lyrics written by the tannie herself and music by Karen Zoid and Paul Morrissey.

The video for the song, which is called “Song for Tomorrow”, starts with Tannie Evita playing the national anthem on the piano and features footage of the artists singing in the Woodstock recording studio, shots of Evita dancing and, of course, selfies collected during the campaign, showing what people want President Jacob Zuma to commit himself to doing with the money he is supposed to pay back after Nkandla.

The #CommitYourSelfie and #PayBackTheMoney campaigns were started in anticipation of the 2015 State of the Nation (SONA) which will take place in Cape Town tomorrow, 12 February.

Zolani Mahola and Hemelbesem join Zoid on the vocals, with Zion Zuke, Geran Steyn, Bianca Wood, Rheinaldt Moagi, Monika Voysey, Martin Venter, Shannon Devy, Paul Morrissey and the Bergvliet High School Choir providing backing vocals.

Watch Tannie Evita’s video:

Evita's Kossie SikelelaEvita se Kossie SikelelaEvita's BlackBessieEvita se BlackBessieEvita se Bossie SikelelaEvita\'s Bossie Sikelela

 
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Image courtesy of the “Song for Tomorrow” music video


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Tannie Evita Invites You to #CommitYourSelfie in a Campaign Against Corruption and Pessimism

by Amanda on Jan 21st, 2015
Evita's Kossie SikelelaEvita se Kossie SikelelaEvita's BlackBessieEvita se BlackBessieEvita se Bossie SikelelaEvita\'s Bossie Sikelela

 

Evita Bezuidenhout has invited the Twittersphere to join her in a new campaign against corruption and pessimism titled #CommitYourSelfie.

In an official declaration shared on Tannie Evita’s website the idea behind the campaign is explained as follows:

#CommitYourselfie: the national twitter to action

Unchartered territory is a phrase used now more than ever. On 12th February 2015 South Africa’s Parliament reopens with President Jacob Zuma’s State of the Nation address. This time round there are expectations of disorder. Slogans may be shouted and brandished. Red costumes could overshadow the dignity and importance of this start to a new season of lawmaking and governance of the people, for the people and by the people. Recent happenings in world politics have shown the huge significance of civil unity and democrats willing to stand up and be counted against threats of chaos and corruption. In some cases far worse. Humour is still a unique weapon against in onslaughts of arrogance, dishonesty, carelessness and fear.

In short, Tannie Evita hopes that this campaign will bring forth ideas of what could be done with the money should President Jacob Zuma decide to #PayBackTheMoney. She writes on her website:

“If we the people lead, the government will follow. Commit yourselfie to a better future!”

Tannie Evita led the masses by tweeting her own beautiful selfie:

Many tweeters have since joined in, including Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, comedian John Vlismas, the East Coast Radio breakfast team and Karen Zoid:

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Pieter-Dirk Uys on Charlie Hebdo: “The Relatively Unchartered Territory of Satire has Always Been a Minefield”

by Amanda on Jan 13th, 2015
Evita se Bossie SikelelaEvita\'s Bossie SikelelaEvita's BlackBessieEvita's Kossie SikelelaEvita se Kossie Sikelela

 
Pieter-Dirk Uys, who often writes and performs satirical material under the pseudonym Evita Bezuidenhout, has responded to the tragic event which saw 12 people killed in an apparent militant Islamist attack on the Paris-based office of the French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo.

“Oh, for the days when censorship was just funny!” Uys writes in an article for LitNet, sharing his own history of censorship and how he challenged “the great love of my life, a diversion that made me famous: the Publications Control Board”. He asks, “So where are we today?” and calls on writers to write, cartoonists to cartoon and readers to read without fear of censorship.

Read the article:

So where are we today? Je suis Charlie. The relatively unchartered territory of satire has always been a minefield. More often than not, democratic freedoms of speech and expression have offered a safe passage, but those who tiptoe through this unknown known, armed only with humour as their weapon of mass distraction, must understand how badly it could end. Today, urban terror as a career-move for fanatics, shows how Andy Warhol’s fifteen minutes of bling-fame congeals into hours of bloody infamy.

Our world has morphed into a stunned neighbourhood as social media reflects the opinions, prejudice and common sense of people not yet used to the fact that bombs and news can break in the palm of our hands.

Censorship now happens in many subtle ways. The bigger concern is self-censorship where the fear of violent retaliation, no matter how small, mutes the voice and cripples the word.

Nothing is beyond satire. There are a million ways to find the target without igniting the mines under our feet. Writers must write. Cartoonists must cartoon. Readers must read. And everyone must stand up and be counted. Then there will be more exclamation marks of question than question marks of fear.

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Evita’s BlackBessie: A Personal Planner and the Answer to the Domination of Digital Devices

by Amanda on Dec 1st, 2014

Evita's BlackBessieEvita se BlackBessieNamibiana Buchdepot has shared an excerpt from Evita’s BlackBessie (also available in Afrikaans as Evita se BlackBessie).

Evita’s BlackBessie is a personal planner and Evita’s answer to the domination of digital devices.

In the excerpt, Evita explains why she chooses to use a notebook and pencil, rather than some device or website, to organise her life. She likes checking her email in shopping queue and SMSing her grandchildren as much as the next tannie, but still regards old-fashioned columns and lists as the best way to her plan life.

Read the excerpt:

Does anyone still have a diary? Of course not; it’s the 21st century and everything is digital. I love it! I celebrate the magic of Google (on which I have 23000 results!) I enjoy smsing and restructuring spelling to suit the twitter and tweet. YouTube makes me an addict and the Facebook of my grandchildren is a source of wonder. But I also love sitting quietly somewhere with my notebook and my pencil to organise my life without the fear of someone at Microsoft or Apple listening in or peering at me from the depths of my Nokia.

Watch a video:

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Evita Bezuidenhout on The Anne Hirsch Show: “Twerking is Out, Tweeting is On”

by Amanda on Oct 23rd, 2013

Evita\'s Bossie SikelelaComedian Anne Hirsch kicked off the third season of The Anne Hirsch Show by interviewing “South Africa’s first lady and the most famous white woman in the world”, Evita Bezuidenhout.

Hirsch joined Bezuidenhout at her house in Darling and asked her to share her thoughts on the whole Miley Cyrus twerking debacle. While not entirely sure who Cyrus is, Bezuidenhout is firm in her view that children should not be demeaned in any way and delivered this message to Cyrus: “twerking is out, tweeting is on”. Bezuidenhout also mentions that she tweets as @TannieEvita and has nearly 60 000 followers.

Watch the interview:

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Solve Kobus Galloway’s Cartoon Puzzle and Win a Random House Struik Book of Your Choice Worth R500

by Amanda on Oct 1st, 2013

Idees Vol Vrees 3Kobus Galloway, illustrator and author of Idees Vol Vrees 3, has created a third cartoon puzzle for Random Reads.

If you can figure out which Random House Struik book the cartoon depicts you can stand a chance of winning a RHS book of your choice worth R500.

Browse the Random House Struik website for help finding the answer:
 

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Solve Kobus Galloway’s Cartoon Clue to Win a Book to the Value of R500

by Amanda on Jul 26th, 2013

Idees vol vrees: Volume 2Random House Struik recently announced that Kobus Galloway, author of the book of cartoons, Idees vol vrees, will be doing some illustrations for their Random Reads blog. Galloway’s first cartoon depicts a book recently published by Umuzi and if you can figure out which book it is you will stand a chance of winning a Random House Struik book of your choice to the value of R500.

Have a look at Galloway’s cartoon below and browse the Random House Struik website if you need help finding the answer:

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Podcast: Bruce Clark Talks About the Origins of Love, Sex, Fleas, God on Chai FM

by Amanda on Aug 24th, 2012

Love, Sex, Fleas, GodBruce Clark talks about how love is “about letting go”, in an interview with Chai FM. He shares how he started writing Love, Sex, Fleas, God, and that he’d had the book percolating inside him for many years before he wrote anything substantial.

Listen to the podcast:

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Extract from Evita’s Kossie Sikelela: A Melktert to Cushion a Fall

by Amanda on Apr 10th, 2012

Evita's Kossie SikelelaPieter-Dirk Uys’ alter ego, Evita Bezuidenhout, has been cooking up delicious humour and political satire for decades. Who knew she could cook proper South African kos as well? In this excerpt from Evita’s Kossie Sikelela, we find out just how dear to Evita’s heart melktert is, in a memory she shares:

When I was a little girl at school in Bethlehem in the Orange Free State, I remember how traumatised I was by that picture of the Battle of Blood River that hung on the wall next to my table (I was in Standard Four for 2 years because I’d broken my leg and a snake bit me – twice). Those images of violence and bloodletting were enough to drive me, as a young Christian Afrikaans girl, quite insane. I voted for the NP! No wonder so many of us Afrikaners are so deeply disturbed. And then I was introduced to melktert. It was soft on my pain, candy floss against my fears. Melktert is more than milk and less of a tart. It is that kiss of life from one who knows life to one who needs love. Melktert is the cushion after the traumatic fall from Hell, the duvet of warmth after the avalanche of guilt has frozen your soul. Melktert is the ultimate weapon of sweet destruction. Hand a piece of melktert to the person who confronts you with a gun. You will end up with that gun, leaving the antagonist with another few kilos on his hips.

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