A South African’s View of Apartheid on PBS

“Across the Rubicon” is a view of apartheid previously unavailable on American TV, a view through the eyes of South African satirist Pieter-Dirk Uys, who is sometimes funny, sometimes labored, but always unique and interesting.

Airing at 10 tonight on Channels 15 and 24 and at 6 p.m. Thursday on Channel 58, the PBS special was filmed in South Africa and includes elements of Uys’ one-man show in which he parodies the likes of Bishop Desmond Tutu, President P. W. Botha and Botha’s white minority government.

Uys’ shows and revues have been censored and even closed down by the government, which now reluctantly tolerates him, according to producers Lionel and Diana Friedberg, South African film makers now living in Los Angeles.