Thesis (D. Litt. (English))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 240-257).

The focus of this thesis is Pieter-Dirk Uys's use of the rhetorical trope chiasmus as a satirical tool, an aspect of his work that has, to date, received little attention. The multiple nuances of 'chiasmus' are examined, pointing to the performer/persona relationship in terms of ‘ “1" create Image; Image makes "I" , (Breytenbach, 1985) and the related 'semiotic richness of stage sign-vehicles' (Elam, 1980). The primarily semiotic analyses of chiastic configurations are supported by close textual analyses throughout. Pieter-Dirk Uys's chiastic admix of his satirical pleasure/pain principle (entertainment! censure) is analysed in one newspaper article, one prose work and two revues. Uys's satire is contextualised against the background of the development of satire. The inherently chiastic mode of satire and various techniques and writing styles are explored. Contemporary society lacks definitive moral, social and political norms, and the study attempts to show how Uys entertains by decoding 'the absurdities of contemporary reality' (Fletcher, 1987:ix) as a response to the amorphous experience of living in South African society from the early 1980s until 2001. Uys's use of female characters to articulate his dissatisfaction with South Africa's socio¬political climate during the last quarter of the twentieth century is explored in a selection of three plays, four prose works and ten revues. The focus falls on his creation of female personae, particularly the sustained portrayal of his popular persona, Evita Bezuidenhout. Uys's use of 'real' and 'false disguise' (Baker, 1994) is discussed. The transvestite persona's roles of both an 'intervener' who challenges thestatus quo and alerts the public to 'cultural, social or aesthetic dissonance' and an 'interventor' or 'enabling fantasy' (Garber, 1992:6) are considered. The focus then shifts to Uys's deployment of various non-verbal sign-vehicles in his dramatic productions. Non-verbal and verbal signs are jointly responsible for the production of meaning in the theatre. Because 'theatrical signs ... acquire qualities ... that they do not have in real life' (Bogatyrev, 1938:35-6), audiences must utilise 'theatrical competence' (Elam, 1980: 87). A study of electronic recordings of eight revues reveals that Uys's non-verbal signs are as chiastic as his verbal ones. Uys's perpetuation of the Evita 'myth' as/or 'legend' is traced from her beginnings as a newspaper 'voice', to popular theatre and television personality, to the recipient of prestigious awards. Evita's current and possible future roles are considered. Uys's fabrication of Evita's family and her 'biography' is also examined as contributory to the legend, exploring Evita's metamorphosis from a housewife to a political figurehead who conflates fictional and real life exploits with South African politicians - a strategy through which Uys appears to align himself with current feminist issues. The slippage between fact and fiction has interesting consequences for Uys's level of control over his Evita persona, who seems occasionally to control him. This thesis concludes with a review of the aims and rationale of the study, providing a broad synopsis of the main findings and looking at its limitations. Finally, it suggests possible areas for further research. / Thesis (DLitt (English))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / Modern European Languages / unrestricted

During the 1970s the plays of Pieter-Dirk Uys became causes celebres. In the 1980s he was, commercially and artistically, arguably the most successful South African satirist. By 1990 he had gained recognition in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands and Germany. Yet relatively little research has been undertaken or published which evaluates his contribution to South African theatre as a playwright and performer of political satire. This dissertation aims to document and assess the satiric work of Uys and that of his precursors and contemporaries. The first chapter identifies certain characteristic features and purposes of satire as a creative method which cannot be defined in purely literary terms. The views of local practitioners and references to its manifestation in various non-literary and indigenous forms are included to support the descriptive approach to satire in performance adopted in later chapters. Of necessity to a study of Uys's lampoons, Chapter 2 discusses the origins of lampoon and the theatrical presentation of actual persons by Aristophanes (the first extant Western playwright to do so). Both the textual and visual ridicule of Socrates, Euripides, Cleon and Lamachus are considered, to argue that Aristophanes employed the nominal character as a factional type to exemplify a concept for humorous rather than meliorative purposes. Part One of Chapter 3 is a necessarily selective survey of the diversity, style and censorship of satire in South Africa in various theatrical, literary and journalistic forms. Part Two describes the use of satire by Adam Leslie, Jeremy Taylor, Robert Kirby and, more recently, Paul Slabolepszy, Mark Banks, Ian Fraser, Eric Miyeni and the 'alternative' Afrikaners in plays and in revue, cabaret and stand-up comedy. Chapter 4 examines the principal themes of Uys's plays to date, the 1981-1992 revues as entertainment and as a reflection of certain social and political issues, the similarities between his theatrical praxis and that of Aristophanes, and his satiric strategies in performance: his preparatory and visual signifiers, his concern with proxemics, and his mastery of kinesics, paralanguage and chronemics in depicting a spectrum of fictional and non-fictional personae, including Evita Bezuidenhout, P.W. Botha and the Uys-persona. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1993.