Adam Haupt On stage in Cape Town
Evita se Perron hosts the Hello, Darling Festival again this year and promises to provide much entertainment by way of theatre, concerts and cabaret.
Whilst Pieter-Dirk Uys’s Tannie Evita Praat Kaktus and Ouma Ossewania Praat Vuil are proven drawcards, the festival has quite a few new and interesting shows on offer. There’s Roger Lucey and Caroline and Jonny Blundell’s Making Whoopie, a cabaret show which moves through a number of musical styles as well as instruments.
Leonie van Niekerk will sing popular songs ranging from Porter to Gershwin and Judy Page performs music by Charles Aznavour, Bette Midler and Jacques Brel, among others. The festival will also invite the participation of children and adults alike as Uga Carlini and Johan Mostert will be facilitating workshops.
Pieter-Dirk Uys will step out of his usual portfolio as performer to co- star in Noel And Marlene with Godfrey Johnson. Noel and Marlene takes us back to 1961, where Noel Coward and Marlene Dietrich make “magic and music”. There’s no denying the fact that it is Uys’s Evita Bezuidenhout and Ouma Ossewania who will probably be crowd pleasures.
One can’t always tell which way Tannie Evita Praat Kaktus will go in any performance as her use of the daily papers always provides much room for improvisation – she literally needs to think on her high heels with each show, which never disappoints. The small and intimate space which both Perron one and two provide also makes it easy for interaction to take place between the audience and performer.
And this is what Tannie Evita has always thrived on to make her “comedy of prejudice” successful. She often ends her show with the following ambiguously reassuring exit line: “The future is certain. It’s just the past that is unpredictable.” But if Evita is somewhat coy, playful and satirical, Ouma Ossewania is an unmistakable slap in the face.
Ossewania Kakebenia Poggenpoel, Evita’s mother, was born in a concentration camp in 1900 to Sarie Marais – yes, the Sarie Marais. She’s at an old age home and waits for her family to come and visit. You might feel much sympathy for her when you realise that she’s waiting for Godot, but this sympathy would probably be tempered by your horror or amusement at her uncompromising racism.
There’s is much here that could offend PC types. When we first meet her she says, “Hulle s ek is mal. Hulle gee die land weg aan kaffirs en kommuniste en hulle s ek is mal.” Lest you think she is racist, her defense is: “Ek is nie `n rasis nie. Ek is maar net `n Afrikaaner – ek haat almal.” She’s a regular treasure trove of profanity and there is much that reflects the inner workings of the South African psyche.
Is Ouma Ossewania the odd one out or is she `n doodgewone ouma? She may appeal to many people precisely because she externalises what people happen to be thinking anyway, and provides an opportunity for them to laugh at their own prejudices.
But, at the same time, satire often walks the fine line between taking on prejudice and affirming it. Either way, she certainly is one of Uys’s thought-provoking creations and may be well-worth meeting.
Evita se Perron also has a bar, restaurant and curio shop, which are open two hours before each show.
There is therefore ample time to soak up the atmosphere and take in the outrageous deco – a great place to relax with friends, darling!
The Hello, Darling festival takes place at Evita se Perron, Darling, from September 12 to 20 Tel: (02245) 3145