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Interviews

Evita Bezuidenhout: the Darling diva

Forget Madonna. Sure, she’s sold more than 300 million albums over a career of 30 years. But, as someone hailed for her constant reinvention, all she’s really done is change her outfits and dance moves every few years. Those who call her multi-talented clearly haven’t seen her films, or heard of Evita Bezuidenhout.

The most famous white woman in South Africa has been (take a deep breath) an actress, newspaper columnist, politician, TV talk show host, chef, educator, activist, author, tweeter and musical performer. But before all that, she was just known as Evangeline Poggenpoel: a timid, shy girl growing up in Bethlehem in the 1930s.

Categories
Interviews

Pieter-Dirk Uys: don’t cry for me, Bapetikosweti

Pieter-Dirk Uys doesn’t get nervous before his performances. He gets excited. It’s a subtle difference, perhaps, but one that highlights his approach to life.

‘I am a terminal optimist,’ he confirms. ‘My definition of optimism is: expect the worst, hoping it will never be as bad as you imagine. And I have never been disappointed.’

His choice of words is ironic. The man who’d gone to university to become a teacher only to fall in love with the theatre instead doesn’t actually believe in disappointment.