Pieter-Dirk Uys returns to Soho Theatre in London for one-man show

South African satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys returns to Soho Theatre in London, for a one-man show starting on Monday, 12 August.

Uys is returning for his latest show titled Sell-By Date at the Soho Theatre in London in the United Kingdom.

The show will run from 12-24 August 2024.

Uys, who will turn 79 on 28 September, returns after recent surgery which adds a surprising twist, delivering laughter in chaos.

Sell-By Date features not only the man, author and social activist as himself, but a parade of icons – male, female and political – bringing Londoners news and memories from life in the Rainbow Nation. 

The South African and British general elections will also be celebrated for the ‘mock’ in democracy and the ‘con’ in Constitution.

To find out more or buy a ticket, click here.

Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu never had a sell-by date, nor it seem do his beloved characters, Evita Bezuidenhout and Nowell Fine, but after 60 years live on stage, Uys is not surprised when he’s asked: ‘When will you retire?’

His answer is short and sweet: ‘Not re-tyre; retread!’

This 2024 performance brings London audiences Uys on top form: laughing at fears and embracing facts with his tongue firmly in your cheek. 

“I love performing in London to an audience of my generation, and also to the social media TikTok adventurers. I’m an entertainer who tries to stick to the recipe of 49% anger versus 51% entertainment – not the other way round. It’s been a full-time job. Sometimes it feels as if I’m just starting,” he said.

PIETER-DIRK UYS REFLECTS ON APARTHEID

When asked what was the moment he knew political commentary would be a central component of the type of theatre he creates, he revealed it was during apartheid in South Africa.

“During the years of apartheid, every time I saw a sign that said WHITES ONLY, I knew what I had to do. Every time the apartheid government banned a play of mine, I wrote two more. The moment they tried to frighten me into silence, I rolled on red lipstick and let Evita Bezuidenhout handle it. While politics is, after all, the local drug that makes us all addicts, politics is also here today and gone tonight,” he said.

Visit the SA People website for the latest on Pieter-Dirk Uys’s Sell-By Date show