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Really, folks, this stuff writes itself. It doesn't, of course. It's Uys's mind who takes the horror a apartheid and the subsequent social upheaval after its 1994 dismantling and pu ts it in a framework that allows us to shake our heads in disgust and smile through it. The show is called "Elections and Erections: A Chronicle of Fear and Fun," and that pretty much sums it up. It's more to do with politics than sex, but somehow, they seem to mix. Uys talks about when he was a young gay man at a nude beach and, well, one thing led to another ... except one of the other things was that the other kid was black and an even worse kind of hell could explode if that were discovered. Uys dabbles in US politics at the beginning with a Hillary Clinton bit and at the end, with a tiny jab, at George W. Bush - because doing comedy in "monosyllables is too hard" and "he is your problem, not mine." Uys deals most of the time with the contradictionns and hypocrisy of South Africa. It helps to know some of the people he's discussing - both Winnie and Nelson Mandella, P.W. Botha, Evita Bezuidenhout, but you'll get there even if you don't have recall of the players or the scenarios. (Winnie Mandella was noted for the flaming "tire necklace" put around "criminals.") He notes how every famous politician - criminal or not - wanted his picture taken with Nelson Mandella - to achieve goodness by flinting association. He rails at how when apartheid crumbled, its leaders didn't have the same decency as Hitler and most of his Nazi cohorts did in committing suicide. The ANC, the governing body that took over, Uys views with a critical eye. "Hypocrisy is the vaseline of political intercourse," he notes. Uys has a brilliant look at the afterlife, with various notables hanging around the pearly gates, impatiently waiting to get in. The politicians are stunned to find out they "don't have God on their side." And there's Moses! What's he doing outside? Oh,no, it's Charlton Heston. The Muslim suicide bombers? Sure, they're inside waiting for their 17 virgins - except they're inside in "tiny little pieces." Uys's ultimate message: Enjoy the life you have - or try to - and don't bank on "something that might not be there." There's much more. Uys goes through a bunch of costume and personality changes, and creates characters that are not entirely loathesome. You understand why some of them do what they do. But Uys wants us to take a critical look at South Africa - its' history, its present state - and implicitly apply it to our own country. Tickets: $52 and $39. The run closes with two shows Sunday at 2 and 7:30. Zero Arrow St., Cambridge, 617-547-8300 www.amrep.org |