Aug. 20
UGANDA:
Play about gay man staged in Uganda, where death penalty was proposed for
homosexuals
A play that revolves around the turbulent life of a gay man in Uganda is being
staged in the East African nation, where 3 years ago a parliamentarian wrote a
bill seeking the death penalty for homosexuals.
This is the 1st time a play exploring homosexuality is being performed in
Uganda, and the British playwright and producers say they hope their work can
help "normalize the gay character" in this conservative country.
The play, titled "The River and the Mountain," premiered last Friday at a
little-known theater in the capital, Kampala, amid fears the police would raid
the venue and stop production. Government officials had objected to the play
and blocked it from being staged at Uganda's national theater.
David Cecil, one of the play's producers, said on Monday that they were stopped
from hanging posters at the national theater by officials who said the play's
performance had not been authorized by the government.
Edwin Mukalazi, a production manager at the national theater, said the play had
become a "sensitive issue," and that its performance would not be seen as a
promotion of Uganda's arts and culture.
He said that the play is "something that does not stand for our mandate,"
although it may eventually be performed at the national theater if an official
government censor clears it.
Pepe Julian Onziema, a prominent gay activist in Uganda, praised the staging of
the play here as "revolutionary," saying it could help reduce the stigma
suffered by homosexuals.
"I think it's time that we opened our minds to the things happening in our
midst," Onziema said on Monday.
Most Ugandan homosexuals are forced to lead secret lives because of
discriminatory laws and the stigma attached to homosexuality. In 2009 a
lawmaker with the ruling party wrote a bill proposing the death penalty for
what he called "aggravated homosexuality," claiming that Western homosexuals
were luring poor children with promises of money and a better life. The bill
has been condemned by many world leaders, including U.S. President Barack
Obama.
Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, where gay activists frequently
complain of harassment by the police and where Christian clerics urge their gay
parishioners to repent and be cured of their homosexuality. A popular tabloid
frequently uses derogatory words to describe homosexuals. Last year a Ugandan
gay activist was killed in Kampala days after being outed by a tabloid that
called for gays to be hanged.
The new play, written by Beau Hopkins, seems to suggest that the frenzy
swirling around homosexuality in Uganda is tragic and comic at once. The main
character is a 29-year-old corporate businessman whose mother desperately wants
him to get married. The woman pays a Christian pastor to "cure" her son after
she learns of his homosexuality. When the cleric fails to achieve her
objective, she wants her money back. Then she enlists the services of a private
dancer and, finally, a witchdoctor. She never succeeds in her mission.
At his workplace, the gay character's employees are so shocked to learn he is
gay that they wonder aloud, "But he is a good man." In the end their new hatred
for their boss overpowers any affection they previously felt for him, and the
play ends as they swing machetes, baying for his blood.
"This could be your brother, your neighbor, your cousin," said Cecil, the
producer.
He said the play was not a "magic pill" against gay prejudice in Uganda,
although he hoped it would help enlighten some about the complex ways in which
sex, politics and religion intersect.
"It's a play about understanding versus hatred," he said.
The play's directors plan to have it performed in other East African countries.
(source: Associated Press)
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