Amanda Strydom unplugged: SA's cabaret icon on miscarriage, psychosis and healing powers

The Citizen

13 hours ago

Amandla!: Singer-songwriter and actress Amanda Strydom is widely regarded as an icon and pioneering figure in South African cabaret.
Legendary performer Amanda Strydom gave a raw and honest account of her life and career on KykNET's 'Net Mens'. Picture: Supplied
From smouldering cabaret to award-winning acting performances and that 'Amandla' power salute, Amanda Strydom has sprinkled her stardust far and wide over the past 46 years.
The iconic artist – who was featured on the second episode of kykNET's short series Net Mens – reckons however that she is 'far from done'.
Amanda, who has been open about being bipolar, enters the fray of Net Mens with raw honesty, stating: 'I am Amanda Strydom, and I am just human.'
The versatile performer
The singer-songwriter with a dark velvet voice released her first Afrikaans LP in 1983, titled Vir my Familie (For my Family). In 1985, her first English LP, Jupiter Jones is Amanda, saw the light.
One of the roles she created for television was that of a Polish singer, Elzbieta Karski, for John Cundill's 1922 series.
For her powerful performance, Amanda won the Star Tonight award for best English actress in 1985. At the same time, she also began performing as a solo cabaret artist at Garbo's in Cape Town and Club 58 in Hillbrow.
Amanda Strydom was the featured guest on the second episode of 'Net Mens'. Picture: Supplied
In Net Mens, the celebrated artist recalls her childhood in Port Elizabeth, revealing her love for the stage and telling stories from an early age.
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Miscarriage and '1922'
Amanda spoke with raw honesty about the tragic miscarriage she suffered while married to copywriter Jeff Nauss.
She began bleeding at her stork party in Port Elizabeth. Later, in Johannesburg, her gynaecologist broke the news that the baby, a boy, was no longer alive.
'I don't think I ever got over it,' she said.
Shortly afterwards, she was cast in 1922, and, as Amanda put it, she clung to the role as Polish singer Elzbieta Karski like a piece of driftwood.
'It was one of the most amazing roles I've ever played,' she said.
'All hell broke lose': Amanda Strydom talks 'Amandla!'
According to her, a turning point in her career was when she shouted 'Amandla!'and gave the black power salute at the end of a concert at the Oude Libertas in Stellenbosch in 1986.
'All hell broke loose,' Amanda said.
The writer Hennie Aucamp – whom Amanda called 'Master' – told her afterwards that she needed to understand that nothing would ever be the same again.
'I tried to cope with it. Like with the miscarriage – you try to suppress and suppress.
'But when people repress hurt and humiliation, when your soul is trampled on and you keep it all inside, you're building a bomb inside yourself – a bomb that will definitely explode at some point.'
Amanda Strydom: Overcoming the obstacles of life and love
Amanda began hearing voices, and all the emotions she had suppressed, turned into psychosis. She was admitted to a psychiatric institution, where she underwent shock therapy, among other treatments.
A psychiatrist recommended that she find work with a fixed routine – a 9-to-5 job that could restore her sense of dignity.
During this time, Amanda came to terms with being alone and made friends with her neighbours. When their house was sold, a new tenant moved in, and that's how she met her husband, Tony de Beer.
She eventually returned to the stage, and her career went from strength to strength with many regarding Amanda Strydom as an icon and pioneering figure in South African cabaret.
LISTEN: 'Ek Loop die Pad'
In Net Mens, the star also performed excerpts from some of her most beloved songs, including 'Ek Loop die Pad', the very first song she ever wrote.
'It's healing when you write about deep hurt – and then also manage to have a sense of humour about it,' Amanda said.
Guests featured on the episode – which is available on DStv Stream and Catch Up – include Coenraad Rall, her friend and long-time accompanist, as well as Karen Meiring, Saartjie Botha and Margit Meyer-Rödenbeck, all of whom have known Amanda through the arts for many years.
Next on 'Net Mens'…
Actress Hanna Grobler is the guest on the third and final episode of Net Mens which will air next Sunday, 20 July at 8pm on kykNET (DStv channel 144). The complete series is also available on DStv Stream and Catch Up.