Song of the South

Australia’s relationship with South Africa has never been a particularly easy one. From the Boer War to apartheid and boycotts, we’ve never enjoyed the kind of relations we have with say New Zealand. But now the walls are breaking down. Eleven years after the official end of apartheid, we’re coming to understand what makes those on the other side of the Indian Ocean tick. That process should be enhanced by the visits to this country of two prominent figures in South Africa’s arts scene – Pieter-Dirk Uys and John Kani

First to arrive is the flamboyant Uys (which is pronounced like “ice”), South Africa’s most prominent social satirist and AIDS activist. He will present his one-man, seven-politician, six-woman show Elections and Erections in Sydney and Brisbane during March.

Elections and Erections employs biting black humour to examine South Africa’s ten year post-apartheid existence and its future as a country threatened by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, themes that may be familiar from his previous work Foreign AIDS.

South Africa’s answer to Dame Edna Everage, Afrikaner housewife and reformed racist Evita Bezuidenhout is among a line-up of characters who appear in Elections and Erections including Winnie Mandela, Desmond Tutu and current South African President Thabo Mbeki.

Elections and Erections plays at the Seymour Theatre Centre in Sydney from March 10 – 19 as part of the Big Laugh comedy festival; and at the Brisbane Powerhouse from March 22 – 24.

Rather more serious in form is the award-winning play Nothing But the Truth by John Kani. Described as South Africa’s “Death of a Salesman”, Nothing But the Truth is Kani’s tribute to his brother, Xolile Kani who was shot dead by police while reciting a poem at a 1985 New Brighton funeral for a nine-year-old girl who died after being hit by a tear gas canister.

Critics have lauded the play as one of the most significant post-apartheid theatrical works ever made. Kani was one of the more prominent artistic figures in the fight against apartheid. He collaborated extensively with South Africa’s (internationally) best-known playwright Athol Fugard, and his contributions have made theatrical history in his homeland. Now, with apartheid gone, Kani sees the role of artists in the new South Africa as being to “continue to be the voice of the conscience of our society”; something reflected in Nothing But the Truth.

According to Brisbane Powerhouse director Andrew Ross, this play is significant because “it addresses the inequities and tensions that still trouble South Africa’s journey towards reconciliation.”

Nothing But the Truth will have its Australian premiere at the Brisbane Powerhouse on 13 April (running till 23 April) before heading to the Sydney Opera House for a season from 28 April to 21 May.

David Edwards

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Pieter-Dirk Uys: Elections and Erections

Venue: Seymour Theatre Sydney and Brisbane Powerhouse
Dates: March 10 - 19 (Sydney) and March 22 - 24 (Brisbane)

John Kani: Nothing But the Truth

Venue: Brisbane Powerhouse and Sydney Opera House
Dates: April 13 - 23(Brisbane) and April 28 - May 21 (Sydney)