Evita for President!

Evita se Perron presents a Pieter-Dirk Uys performance at the Spier Summer Arts Festival...

No matter what we talk about, the final question is: who will be South Africa's next President. The General Election of 2009 will determine that, yes, but by the end of 2007 the ANC will vote in a new President of the Party. Will it be Jacob Zuma? Will it be another term for Thabo? Or what of all the women in Cabinet? Manto? Nkosozana? Phumzile? And the magnificent outsider Winnie M-M?

Obviously the leader of the ANC will automatically become President of the country. But what if there's a stalemate? Mrs Evita Bezuidenhout might eventually be the only choice for President. When it comes to leadership and a clear understanding of what is needed to reconcile and heal a fractured society, the most famous white woman in South Africa might allow herself to be convinced to pick up the reigns and take her people into the next phase of their lives. She holds the ultimate weapon of mass destraction: humour.

Evita Bezuidenhout has been part of the local political spectrum for the last 30 years. In 1985 she was already famous. FW de Klerk was just a Minister. NelsonMandela was a faceless prisoner. Thabo Mbeki was an unknown exile. Desmond Tutu was persona non grata. And as for the others? Who'd ever heard of all those Zumas, the beetroot Mantos or Trevor Manuels? Just Winnie, the equally notorious Mugger of the Nation.

Evita was the South African Ambassador in the Homeland of Bapetikosweti during the apartheid years and recently through her cooking has contributed uniquely to reconciliation throughout South Africa and the World. At present she is in charge of the kitchen at the exclusive Native Club in Gauteng and oversees the menu in Parliament. Could she lead the nation out of the quicksands of corruption, arrogance and complacency?

After twelve years of democracy there is now more time to waste and less time to think. Freedom must be protected every day through any means: care, interest, opinion, need, anger, argument and embrace. Evita Bezuidenhout will be ready with answers, if not solutions. The problems are obvious. It could be a landslide victory. Any excuse for a bobotie-orgy!

Pieter-Dirk Uys presents this world premiere of his new one man onslaught against the 'mock' in democracy and the 'con' in reconciliation. He introduces a chorus-line of new characters in this ex-Spier-ience: Mrs Indira Patel who does crime, Mrs Pietersen whose husband is not black enough to get a job, Sonja from Blue Downs who has sexual problems with her Xhosa husband, Trevor Manuel's bergie pal from the old days of the UDF, a former member of the Third Force now working for British immigration, Mother Theresa who is Heavens PRO, and Kadar Asmal who leads a seminar on how to become Acting-President at a moment's notice.

In a democracy anything is possible and everything is available. EVITA FOR PRESIDENT might just be the answer to the question: Who will kick off the first ball at the 2010 Soccer Wiorld Cup? And will it be in Perth or in Green Point? Koeksisters of the world unite! The Struggle continues. Aluta Continua! Tannie for President! Viva! Vrystaat! Vuk'uzinzele!

Evita for President!
Where: Spier Amphitheatre, Spier Estate
When: 25 - 28 January 2007, 20h30
Tickets:  R130; R110; R90
More Info: 021 809 1111


Molo says: "Spier has a variety of events running during the Spier Arts Summer Season. Find out more about Spier's production of Cargo; Spier's Poetry Festival; and the highly anticipated production of Macbeth: The Opera, also showing at Spier's Amphitheatre.

Find out about more things to do at Spier; Capetownmagazine.com informs you of the range of exciting experiences on offer at this idyllic wine estate just outside Cape Town."