Mikhail Peppas and Sanabelle
Ebrahim
The
thrilling adventures of a legendary icon, from an extraordinary country and the
phenomenal power of laughter took centre stage at the World Premiere of ‘Nobody’s
Died Laughing’. The theatrical-action-documentary film celebrates the life and
work of Pieter-Dirk Uys, a prolific writer, satirist and activist.
The
Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre provided the backdrop for the screening on Sunday 19
June at the Durban International Film Festival. The audience witnessed the ups
and downs of Uys’ personal and professional life through his performances, archival
footage and interviews that include Desmond Tutu, Charlize Theron, Lizz Meiring,
Anna-Mart van der Merwe, FW de Klerk, Dame Janet Suzman, Thoko Ntshinga, Zolani
Mahola, Vincent Ebrahim, Professor David Gere, Eric Abraham, Jonathan Shapiro
and Sophia Loren as well as footage of his sister Tessa Uys and Nelson Mandela.
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Following the screening, a Q&A session with the
cast and crew of ‘Nobody’s Died Laughing’ provides a wonderful opportunity to
get behind the many masks of Evita. (L-R) Lizz Meiring, Thoko Ntshinga,
Pieter-Dirk Uys and Willem Oelofsen (Director/Producer). Photo Mikhail Peppas
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The
film follows his journeys through South Africa and on to London, Berlin and his
home in Darling. He has converted the old railway station in Darling into a
cabaret venue called Evita se Perron, famous for its satirical garden,
Boerassic Park, and the domain of Evita Bezuidenhout, the ‘most famous white
woman in South Africa’.
Uys
was born in Cape Town in 1945 and has graced theatres around the world since
the mid-1960s. He was closely associated with the Space Theatre in Cape Town
and Johannesburg’s Market Theatre during the 1970s and 1980s.
The
film covers his many achievements, including his travels around South Africa,
visiting more than 1.5 million school children, as well as prisons and
reformatories, with a free AIDS-awareness entertainment programme.
Director/Producer
Willem Oelofsen says: “Only now, looking back on all of this, I can truly
appreciate the importance of making the definitive documentary feature film
about one of South Africa’s most prolific and most loved personalities.”
Executive
producer Herman Binge reflects that “for so many years he acted as our national
conscience on stage and he did it with a smile.”
President
Nelson Mandela remarked about Uys: “Remember this diverse and colourful nation
of South Africa will always have one thing in common. We all choose to believe
Evita Bezuidenhout is real.”
‘Nobody’s
Died Laughing’ tells the story of theatre and satire as a platform to affect
change, not only in the old South Africa, but also in the country’s new
democratic dispensation.
The
Green Heart Movement has a BunnyKat named Astro to present to Charlize Theron
if she and Uys happen to pass through the Global Village at the International
AIDS Conference. The citizen-based organisation, Green Heart Movement, aims to
position Durban as Green Heart City. The reference to Durban as Green Heart
City echoes the promotional branding of New York as the Big Apple and Paris as
the City of Love. The BunnyKats are handmade from upcycled material by crafters
in the Valley of 1000 Hills. The folk craft puppets are gaining momentum as
cultural icons of Green Heart City Durban and KwaZulu-Natal.
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BunnyKat Valley snuggles up to new friend Pieter-Dirk
Uys and is thrilled to be travelling to Evita se Perron in Darling. Green Heart
Movement presented a Durban BunnyKat to Uys at the world premiere of ‘Nobody’s
Died Laughing’ at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre. Photo Mikhail Peppas
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‘Nobody’s
Died Laughing’ opens in cinemas nationwide on Friday 29 July. Uys will be in
attendance at the first screening in Durban at 12midday at Gateway.
